AUTO1 : ESG Report 2023 (05 2023 ESG REPORT EN)

2023 ESG REPORT

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A MESSAGE FROM OUR MANAGEMENT BOARD

For the first 10 years since the foundation of AUTO1 Group, our main focus has been to grow the business - which we did. It has always been our goal to offer the best possible experiences to all of our customers - dealers and consumers alike. This conviction is the reason for everything we do. Following this principle, we have built products that are category leaders in their areas, like AUTO1.com being Europe's largest wholesale platform for used cars. We did all this while having rigorous ESG considerations in place, as we are convinced that it's central to the sustainable growth and development of our company to contribute positively to the communities we live and work in and to minimize our impact on the environment as much as we can.

We are delighted that we made great progress across various initiatives in 2023. In the Netherlands, we have realized several projects to reduce our environmental footprint. For example, when refurbishing vehicles, we chose paint that dries quickly at room temperature, which does not require drying cabins that traditionally would require gas to function.

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We also continued to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. One of the core building blocks therefore are our AUTO1 Communities, through which we aim to create a safe space for employees to exchange ideas and experiences, network, create awareness within the company on certain topics, and nurture the exchange of ideas. Last year, the Women at AUTO1 Community organized a special online panel discussion featuring six of our talented female colleagues for 2023 International Women's Day. The panel touched on topics such as leadership, career growth, diversity, female activism, and debated challenges, success stories, and reflections on how to work towards a more inclusive workplace.

Looking at the years ahead, we will stay ambitious and constantly look for ways to improve the experiences of our customers and we'll focus more than ever on innovation and the use of technology to grow our business. This is only possible with the robust Environmental, Social and Governance structures that we have built. Through ensuring that a solid ESG framework is weaved into our DNA, we have laid the necessary foundation to develop and grow our unique business model.

As a result, ESG practices continue to be strongly anchored in our daily considerations and work. Reporting under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will commence in 2025, but in the meantime we stay focused on improving our processes and continue to strive for progress and achievements in regards to our sustainability efforts.

This report highlights our considerable advancements across various ESG initiatives last year, while also acknowledging the areas where our journey is just beginning. We are very excited about the future and the opportunities it holds for us.

Thank you for being part of our journey.

Christian Bertermann	Markus Boser
CEO & Co-Founder	CFO of AUTO1 Group
of AUTO1 Group

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COMPANY

PROFILE

AUTO1 Group SE (hereinafter AUTO1) is Europe's leading digital automotive platform for buying and selling used cars, operating as an e-commerce platform under the brand names AUTO1.com, wirkaufendeinauto.de, with its sister brands, and Autohero. With a presence in over 30 countries, we have around 5,500 employees, and sold over 580,000 vehicles in 2023. Please refer to the Group profile in the Combined Management Report within Section 3 of our Annual Report for a detailed description of our business model.

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AUTO1 IN NUMBERS

ca. 5,500 30+

EmployeesCountries

22102

Countries	Unique
with offices	nationalities

4,200,000+

Cars purchased and sold from customers

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INTRODUCTION

Our Value Chain

REUSE & EXTEND LIFE

REFURBISH & EXTEND LIFE

SOURCING

We believe that our unique business model, as shown in this model of our value chain, has the potential to contribute to multiple ESG goals, such as the transition to a circular economy. In preparing this report, we have re-analyzed our model to transparently represent its sustainability impact.

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INTRODUCTION

Our Approach to Non-financial Reporting

As we advance our company mission to create the best way to buy and sell used cars, we acknowledge that the integration of sustainability considerations in our daily work is central to this goal and the sustainable growth of our company. It is this principle that underlies our legal obligation to produce a sustainability report and forms the cornerstone of our approach towards our non-financial reporting.

This sustainability report is a separate, non-financial group report for the fiscal year 2023 in accordance with Sec. 289b (1) and (3) and Sec. 315b (1) and (3) of the German Commercial Code (HGB).

It applies the EU's Regulation on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment (the Taxonomy Regulation). Accordingly, this report discloses the proportion of our turnover, capital expenditure (CapEx), and operating expenditure (OpEx) which is eligible under, as well as the proportion which is aligned with, the requirements of the EU Taxonomy Regulation. Please refer to the Environmental section of this report for a more detailed explanation of our Taxonomy disclosure.

This report also voluntarily applies the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) reporting standard and its focus on disclosing industry-specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which we believe allow us to provide relevant information and easily benchmarkable metrics that focus on material issues impacting the health of the company.

Under the SASB standard we are classified as Sector Consumer Goods, Primary Industry Multiline & Speciality Retailer, and Distributor. Applying this standard enables us to use the same rigor when producing our sustainability metrics as for our financial statements, allowing us to offer our shareholders, business partners, and the public a comprehensive overview of our non-financial metrics and performance to transparently assess our sustainability efforts.

Our Central Commitments

We support the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and integrate these into our strategic business decisions and daily operations. In line with the characteristics of our business model, our focus lies on the following three SDGs:

Goal

13

Regarding Environmental Topics: Climate Action

This SDG calls to "take urgent action to combat climate change and its impact" through climate protection, reduction of greenhouse gasses, and the adherence to the Paris Agreement of December 2015. Accordingly, we are aware of the overwhelming importance of this goal and the need for our company to support it.

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INTRODUCTION

Goal

5

Regarding Social Matters:

Gender Equality

This SDG calls to "achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls", and we fully agree with this principle. Indeed, Goal 5 aims at ending all forms of discrimination against women and girls (Goal 5.1), to recognize and value the promotion of shared responsibilities within the household and family as nationally appropriate (Goal 5.4), and to ensure women's full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in economic life (Goal 5.5).

Goal

8

Regarding Governance:

Decent Work and

Economic Growth

Aiming to "promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all", we felt that this goal was best aligned with the governance measures which we have implemented to ensure the sustainable development of our business, our adherence to labor rights and fair pay, and the sustainable economic development of our business partners.

This report develops these along with other principles, describes our sustainability strategy, and outlines initiatives and governance measures that we have implemented to underline our commitment to sustainability. In this report, we also present an outlook on upcoming initiatives and measures, as well as our sustainability strategy going forward.

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INTRODUCTION

Process Followed to Create Report

As the basis of our sustainability strategy and reporting, and to maximize the transparency around this process, we conducted our yearly non-financial materiality assessment. Our aim was to reevaluate how our business impacts the environment, social, and employee matters, and whether we continue to meet the necessary risk management, compliance, and governance standards to ensure that we can successfully implement our sustainability strategy while meeting applicable regulatory requirements. As part of this assessment, we analyzed our business model, value and supply chain, working with internal and external stakeholders to highlight the main ways our business impacts these topics as well as the ways in which these impact our business, following a double-materiality approach; inside-out and outside-in.

This analysis included our strengths, potential weaknesses and risks which have informed our sustainability strategy, as well as the implementation of the ESG initiatives described throughout this report. This preliminary assessment was followed by in-depth internal discussions and deliberation

led by our Management Board in collaboration with the ESG Steering Committee and under the supervision of the ESG Committee of our Supervisory Board. It involved our Purchasing, Sales, Real Estate, Logistics, Production, Legal and Compliance, Communications, People, Tax & Risk, and Accounting departments, involving stakeholders across multiple seniority levels. It touched on a broad range of environmental, social and governance topics, and aspects of our business, resulting in the following rating.

AUTO1 fulfills consumers' mobility needs by providing a uniquely transparent and easy way to both buy and sell used cars, offering the widest selection of vehicles and enabling customers to transact from the comfort of their own home. To enable this vision, AUTO1 operates a comprehensive pan- European logistics network. Our impact on the environment, and accordingly our CO2 footprint, therefore remains the decisive factor within our assessment. Accordingly, our ESG team performed our yearly CO2 audit to analyze which of our operational elements impacts the environment and which measures would best mitigate this impact. We also took into

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INTRODUCTION

consideration further environmental aspects such as the use of renewable energy sources and the sustainable disposal of waste on our premises and production facilities. Addressing environmental sustainability remains our principal ESG goal.

Our people and the community are the second most important consideration for us. With around 5,500 employees, a representation of 102 unique nationalities, activities in more than 30 countries, and a strong local and international impact as an employer, it remains clear to us that the people and community topics are particularly important for our company. Within these topics we looked at our impact as a company on a pan-European level, labor practices, workplace equality and diversity, the training & development of our diverse workforce, and our social impact and contributions.

Finally, we re-assessed our risk management, compliance, and governance measures on the basis of applicable laws and standards, as well as the German Corporate Governance Code. Here, we evaluated our risk management strategy, anti-corruption & bribery measures, data security and protection, our adherence to human rights and supply chain legislation, the independence of our Supervisory Board, Audit Committee, and our dedicated sustainability governance structure. Areas of focus here were diversity and inclusion within these bodies, decision paths, and the integration and reporting of sustainability considerations within them.

Our Non-financial

Risk Management

The Management Board, in collaboration with the Risk Management and Compliance team, has conducted a rigorous evaluation of AUTO1's principal risks, inclusive of those that could potentially influence our sustainability strategy. Our internal due diligence encompasses a holistic ESG risk assessment, addressing key areas such as environmental, employee and social, human rights, and supply chain due diligence considerations.

This evaluation comprehensively analyzes both the impacts of these risks on AUTO1 and the reciprocal effects of our operations on these risk domains.

Furthermore, a dedicated annual compliance risk assessment, integral to our risk management protocol, is conducted. This ensures a continual review of our sustainability risk profile from a legal perspective, fortifying our commitment to upholding legal standards and best practices.

In alignment with the 2022 update of the German Corporate Governance Code, AUTO1 has updated its practices to fully comply with its enhanced guidelines, particularly the sustainability-centric recommendations A2 and A3. These guidelines underscore the importance of embedding ecological and social sustainability considerations into our enterprise management and oversight frameworks.

To monitor non-financial risks, we have implemented a robust whistleblowing system, supplemented by our Whistleblowing policy to enable both internal and external reporting. In 2023, no material risks were raised through this channel.

No significant non-financial risks have been identified during the reporting period relating to the topics laid out in Sec. 289c

(2) (HGB).

Involvement of

the Management Board

The Management Board bears the overall responsibility for our sustainability strategy. It provides guidance on the sustainability initiatives pursued and coordinates these with the respective department leadership at Senior Vice President (SVP) and Vice President (VP) level, as well as with our dedicated ESG team, which is made up of senior stakeholders from the People, Communications, Investor Relations, Accounting, and Legal / Compliance teams. The ESG Committee of the Supervisory Board is the controlling body under which this governance structure is set up.

To ensure accountability for our continued efforts around our sustainability at the most senior levels of management, AUTO1 has formally appointed Markus Boser, Chief Financial Officer, as our Management Board representative for sustainability, ESG ambassador, and chairman of our operational-level ESG Steering Committee.

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