The AMAG Group stands for stability and consistency. This is evident not least from the collaboration with the Volkswagen Group, which stretches back more than 75 years. AMAG also has a large number of other long-standing partnerships in the fields of science, culture, society and business. Without them, the AMAG Group would not be the strong and innovative company it is today.
The AMAG Group is not only a leading player in the Swiss automotive industry, but also a committed research and development partner. Because there is no doubt: the pressing challenges associated with the mobility of the future can only be overcome by collaborating closely with universities and research institutes.
For example, the AMAG Group is working with the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) to conduct research into renewable fuels, known as synfuels. As a car specialist, AMAG is responsible for test driving and repairing the vehicles, while EMPA takes the scientific measurements. The collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH) is also focussed on the mobility of the future. AMAG is making its expertise and long-standing experience available to support ETH’s mobility initiative.
The AMAG Innovation & Venture LAB and the Institute for Mobility at the University of St. Gallen have also been collaborating since 2023. Their shared goal: to develop and promote individual sustainable mobility. Mobility experts from the AMAG Group have been working as lecturers for the CAS in Smart Mobility Management programme for years now. As the cooperation moves to the next stage, the aim is now to forge ahead with the further development of “Mobility as a Service” systems.
The AMAG Group is virtually unrivalled in Switzerland in terms of its passion for vehicles. To help ensure that the next generation can also explore this passion in a fun way, Martin Haefner, owner of AMAG and Chairman of the Board of Directors, has been closely involved in the construction of the Road Transport Hall at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne. The high-bay display store allows visitors to experience the stories behind the models on display. The museum’s younger visitors can also let off steam in a replica AMAG garage, drive cars to their servicing appointment and operate a car wash.
The special exhibition “75 years of VW in Switzerland”, featuring historical and present-day exhibits, has also been open since April 2024. A visit to the new House of Energy, where AMAG, as an exhibition partner, showcases renewable energy production with the “Tiny Planet” showpiece, provides an insight into the present and future of the AMAG Group.
Just as the name Haefner is associated with the AMAG Group and vehicles, it also has links to classical music. Walter Haefner, a devoted listener and fan of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, was already supporting the internationally renowned ensemble back in the 1960s. His son, Martin Haefner, shares this passion, and the AMAG Group has even been the exclusive main partner of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra from the industry since 2011.
Everyone, regardless of their financial situation, should be able to enjoy culture. This makes the keen interest in the AMAG people’s performances at Zurich Opera House, which AMAG became a patron of over a decade ago, all the more encouraging. Thanks to AMAG’s support, a wide audience can enjoy discounted access to operas, ballets and recitals of the very highest artistic quality.
The AMAG Group has always been a family business and, as such, endeavours to promote a sustainable mindset and values and to emphasise the importance of family businesses for the Swiss economy. In memory of AMAG founder Walter Haefner, who passed away in 2012, the AMAG Group funds the Family Business Award.
2023 saw federal councillor Albert Rösti attend the awards ceremony, and he also emphasised the importance of family businesses in his speech. The award went to “Gartenpflanzen Daepp” – a company with a 150-year tradition behind it that is currently managed by the fifth generation of the family and is using its craft to create solutions for an intact environment. These are precisely the values that AMAG also lives by and which are part of the company’s DNA.
– Helmut Ruhl, CEO of the AMAG Group
