Headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany, Volkswagen AG is Europe's largest producer of passenger cars. The Volkswagen Group operates manufacturing facilities in 22 countries, where they produce such well known brands as Audi, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Skoda, Seat, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and of course Volkswagen.

Global competitiveness in the automotive industry must be built upon a foundation of engineering excellence and innovation. Increasingly, semiconductor technology is driving automotive industry performance and reliability standards to new heights of excellence. That is a key reason Volkswagen turned to Spansion. With more than a decade of experience creating automotive Flash memory solutions, Spansion's Flash memory team understands the need for higher density, greater speeds, and smaller size for automotive semiconductors.

"In the coming years, 90% of innovations in motor vehicles will be influenced by electronic systems," said Dr. Ferdinand Pi?ch, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, during the Annual General Meeting of Volkswagen AG in 2001. Mechanical components of Volkswagen, such as hydraulic and mechanical control systems are increasingly being replaced by computer chip-driven systems. Volkswagen uses Spansion Flash memory devices beneath the hood for transmission and powertrain control. "Spansion's Flash technology delivers the superior performance and reliability essential to our manufacturing process and our product," was stressed on the occasion of the Volkswagen Leading Edge 98 Award in November 1999.

The Volkswagen Engine Control Unit (ECU) is also known as the automobile's Fuel Computer or Brain Box. It functions as an electronic computer to regulate the amount of fuel the vehicle's injectors' release. This has enabled, in the case of the 3-litre TDI Lupo Volkswagen, the production of vehicles with a fuel consumption of three liters per 100 kilometers.

For Volkswagen engineers, several key features elevate Spansion Flash technology from that of its competitors. "For us, the keys are performance under extreme temperatures, high reliability, and very good logistics support," Volkswagen managers explained. Spansion Flash memory is designed to work in temperature extremes ranging from - 55 to + 145 degrees Centigrade, and Spansion's Flash memory is built upon the highest standards in the industry. The need for innovative Flash technology is clear. Demands for higher fuel efficiency, stricter emission standards, enhanced engine performance, improved safety and greater comfort all reinforce the need for Flash memory devices. The same phenomenon is equally true in dashboard designs where instrumentation, GPS navigation, and voice recognition systems are either current or future added attractions that depend on Flash technology.

The Volkswagen Group reached an important milestone in 2000, selling more than 5 million cars for the first time in company history. Spansion is proud to be a part of Volkswagen's long-standing tradition of achievement and appreciative that Volkswagen honored Spansion Flash technology with its coveted "Leading Edge" corporate supplier award, recognizing Spansion's Flash memory products for their technology leadership in the areas of low power consumption, high endurance, wide temperature ranges and high reliability.

We continue to work as a key supplier to Volkswagen, helping them build the cars of the future - affordable dream machines featuring unsurpassed safety, comfort, reliability and performance.

? 2002 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved.