Christian Klingler honored as 'Man of the Year 2011' in France

Christian Klingler, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG responsible for sales and marketing, was honored Thursday evening in Paris as 'Homme de l'Annee 2011' (Man of the Year 2011) by a panel of 35 representatives of key French media.
His 'extreme precision and pronounced analysis capabilities for the development of short-, medium- and long-term objectives' were praised by the jury in their citation.

The panel members especially underlined Klingler's involvement in the development of the French sales partner PGA. They also cited his decisive contribution to the present success of the Volkswagen Group. The award is organised annually by the French motoring magazine 'Le Journal de l’Automobile' and presented to outstanding personalities in the automobile industry. Following CEO Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Klingler is the second top manager from the Volkswagen Group to receive this major French accolade.

Klingler received the honor following a further record year for the Volkswagen Group. Europe's largest automaker significantly outperformed its figures for the previous year with over eight-million vehicles sold and an operating profit of €11.3-billion in 2011. In his welcoming message, Winterkorn said that Christian Klingler had played a major role in this positive development. "For me, Christian Klingler is the best salesman in the industry. He has made our sales team fit for the growing challenges in the automobile sector and guarantees our customer orientation. In brief, he is a 100 per cent car guy."

"Personally, I am very happy about this accolade, but I accept it above all on behalf of the Volkswagen team throughout the world. With the successes of 2011, we have set new standards for the Group and its future together," said Klingler.

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