VW privacy policy

VW Privacy Policy

Volkswagen Canada reserves the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time. The current policy will be posted on our website; and we encourage you to refer to it on a regular basis.

Please note that if you have provided your consent to receive the Volkswagen newsletter and to be contacted by Volkswagen Canada with other emails and communications (marketing and advertising purposes), whether before or after the date that this policy was last updated, your profile information (including contact information, preferences and purchase history) may now be used by Volkswagen Canada to serve targeted content and interest-based (behavioural) advertising to you on the internet. Please see section 9, Advertising and Behavioral Targeting, for more details. If you have any concerns or questions, please contact us at vwcarecanada@vw.ca. Open mail linkYou may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting vwcarecanada@vw.ca. Open mail linkEvery successful relationship begins with communication. And since we've got a relationship right here on the Internet, let's communicate. Down below is everything you've ever wanted to know about our PRIVACY POLICY.

In this Privacy Policy, we describe our practices and procedures with respect to the personal information that we collect about you when you purchase or lease a Volkswagen vehicle or otherwise interact with Volkswagen and its websites, mobile applications, vehicles, products and services, including our Car-Net® Services (defined below). 

For further details about our Car-Net® Services, please click here to go directly to the Car-Net section below.  Note: if you are the primary driver of a vehicle that uses the Car-Net Services, you should notify any additional drivers of the vehicle about our privacy practices described herein.

In this Privacy Policy, we have also provided information about information collected and used when you sign up to use the Volkswagen ID (defined below).  Please scroll to 17. Volkswagen ID section.

Should you have other questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please email us at: vwcarecanada@vw.ca.Open mail link

1.  Our Commitment to Privacy

Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy we provide this Privacy Policy, which explains our information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used. To make this Privacy Policy easy to find, we make it available on our homepage and at every point where personal information may be requested on vw.ca.

2.  The Information we Collect

This Privacy Policy applies to all information collected by Volkswagen Canada.

We may collect your personal information at different times, including on this website, at special events, through customer surveys, and through our Customer Relations department.

The types of personal information collected may include:

  • Name
  • Address
  • E-mail address
  • Mailing address
  • Phone number
  • Purchase preferences

We may also collect non-personal information (such as mileage, service data, vehicle health and status) (“Vehicle Data”).

When you: (i) purchase your vehicle from an authorized dealer; or (ii) finance your purchase or lease a vehicle through VW Credit Canada, Inc. d/b/a Volkswagen Finance (“Volkswagen Finance”), we will collect information from the dealer and/or Volkswagen Finance regarding your purchase for our owner database, including for warranty and product campaign –updating purposes and to include you in customer service surveys. Your purchase, finance and lease transactions will be subject to additional terms regarding your personal information provided in connection with such transactions, and its use by us, Volkswagen Finance and our dealers.

Your vehicle may contain hardware and software that enables you to receive the personal assistance and telematics-based services provided through our Car-Net® services (the "Car-Net® Services"). If you choose to subscribe to the Car-Net® Services, whether through a plan offered at no-additional cost or a paid subscription, additional information will be collected by or on behalf of us, including:

  • account information, such as billing, settings, personalized services and authentication information
  • information that you provide when using the Car-Net Services, including information you send and information you request
  • Vehicle Data transmitted from your vehicle, such as general status data (e.g., warning lights, upcoming service schedule, fuel level, battery level, tire pressure); service history and fault or trouble codes; ambient data (e.g. outside temperature and brightness); vehicle performance data; other data about your vehicle including its identification, condition, equipment status, or collision information; vehicle/technology usage data (e.g. usage of start/stop and remote start technology);
  • driver behavior data (e.g. vehicle speed, seat belt use, information about braking habits, etc.) and GPS location data;
  • information about your use of Car-Net® Services, the Car-Net® mobile application, and the Car-Net® website;
  • information about your interactions with us, our affiliates, or our third-party service providers, Integrated Content Providers and Optional Third Parties (each as defined below); and
  • spoken data (and any personal data included therein) when using voice command features or when you speak to a customer care representative.

If your vehicle is equipped with online “over the air” system update capability, we will also collect software and hardware version and serial numbers of vehicle hardware and use this information to provide online system updates.

3.  How We Use Information

We use the personal information you provide as well as Vehicle Data for the purposes that we identify when we ask you to provide the information (except as otherwise noted), including the following:

a)   To respond to requests for products, information or services;

b)   To better understand your preferences and needs and to improve our products and services;

c)   To administer your vehicle warranty, purchase, lease or financing;

d)   For market research purposes;

e)   To provide you with information about your vehicle (including product campaigns);  

f)   To include you in advertising and marketing campaigns, including serving targeted content and interest-based ads; and

g)  Building and maintaining a customer profile of you to be used for any of the above.

We may use non-identifying and aggregate information derived from your personal information to better understand our customers’ purchase and product/service preferences, through statistical analyses and studies.

Personal information may be collected, used, or disclosed without the knowledge or consent of the individual in certain circumstances, as permitted or required by law. These circumstances include personal information which is subject to solicitor-client privilege or is publicly available, where collection or use is clearly in the interests of the individual and consent cannot be obtained in a timely way, to investigate a breach of an agreement or a contravention of a law, to act in response to an emergency that threatens the life, health or security of an individual, for debt collection, or to comply with a subpoena, warrant or court order.

When your personal information is no longer required to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected, it will be destroyed, erased, or made anonymous, provided there are no legal requirements for its continued retention. Our systematic practices for information and records retention and destruction apply to personal information.

4.  How we Share Your Personal Information

For the purposes outlined above, we may share your personal information with Volkswagen Finance and with our authorized dealers. Unless you request us not to do so, you agree that we may use and disclose your personal information to Volkswagen Finance and our Volkswagen Canada authorized dealers (in addition to the authorized dealer you may have purchased/leased a vehicle from) for the purposes of selectively including you in advertising and marketing campaigns related to Volkswagen Canada, Volkswagen Finance or our authorized dealers and their products and services. We also may share your personal information and Vehicle Data with: (i) our affiliates, Audi Canada Inc. (“Audi Canada”),  Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., Audi  Aktiengesellschaft (“Audi AG”) and Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft (“Volkswagen AG”); and (ii) our authorized Volkswagen dealers, in each case for the purposes of building and maintaining a customer profile of you for the purposes set out in the “How We Use Information” section, or for marketing campaigns related to Volkswagen and Audi products and services. If you would prefer that we not use your personal information for advertising or marketing campaigns of any or all of Volkswagen Canada, Volkswagen Finance, Volkswagen dealers, Audi Canada, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., Audi AG, Volkswagen AG or Audi dealers, or for the purposes of building and maintaining your customer profile, please contact us in any of the ways described below under the heading “How to Contact Us”.

We may also share your personal information with Electrify Canada and our other affiliates, partnerships and joint ventures for the purposes of administering our respective businesses, including for example, confirming the purchase or lease of any products or services that you may have made from us or one of our authorized Volkswagen dealers.

Your personal information may be transferred to third party service providers, including our suppliers, contractors, professional advisors, and affiliates, that perform services for us (e.g. (i) data hosting, network and other information technology services, (ii) customer service, (iii) marketing services, (iv) payment processing, and (v) legal, accounting and other professional services), that we use to assist us with managing our relationship with you.

When you purchase or lease a Volkswagen vehicle from a Volkswagen dealer (or otherwise) that is equipped with a trial subscription to SiriusXM satellite radio, we and/or our Volkswagen dealers may share your personal information with Sirius XM Canada Inc. and/or its affiliates (collectively, the "Sirius XM Entities"), including for example: (i) your name, address, phone number, and email address; and (ii) the model, model year, and VIN of your vehicle, the "electronic serial number" or "RadioID" of your vehicle's SiriusXM receiver, and the date when the vehicle was leased/sold to you. We share this information in order to: (x) complete the activation of your SiriusXM trial subscription; (y) allow the Sirius XM Entities to provide you with any additional products and services that you may seek (to the extent applicable); and (z) enable any of the Sirius XM Entities to send you marketing materials (e.g. offers for additional subscriptions to SiriusXM satellite radio) by email or otherwise. For further details about Sirius XM Canada Inc.'s privacy practices, please review its privacy policy.Open external link To allow Volkswagen Canada and the SiriusXM Entities to better understand your needs and to improve our respective products and services, we may collect, use and share data relating to the performance and/or usage of SiriusXM in your vehicle.

Similarly, when you request or purchase certain products and services from a third party service provider through us (e.g. Wi-Fi hotspot services), we may share your personal information with that service provider in order for that service provider to: (i) create and manage its relationship with you; and (ii) provide you with the products and/or services that you seek.  

5.  Location of Your Personal Information

Your personal information may be stored on servers located or transferred outside of Canada (elsewhere in North America or the European Economic Area). Please note that the privacy laws in such jurisdictions differ from Canadian privacy laws and are subject to disclosure pursuant to the laws of those countries, and in some jurisdictions your personal information may be accessed by law enforcement authorities or the courts.

6.  Your Consent and Electronic Messages

We will only send email, text or other electronic messages to you if you have an existing vehicle warranty, other extended coverage or some other form of existing business relationship with us or have asked for or otherwise expressly agreed to receive emails, texts or other electronic messages from us. Any electronic message that you receive from us will identify us as the sender, enable you to contact us directly and provide for a means of unsubscribing from further electronic messages.

7.  A Word on “Cookies”

"Cookies" are small items of data that some websites either write to your hard drive upon your visit to their site(s) or store in the browser. These data files contain information the site can use to organize the pages you have visited on a particular website. Some of our websites may use "cookie" technology to measure site activity and save site preferences. In this way, we can deliver tailor-made information suiting your personal interests upon your next visit to our site(s). Our use of "cookie" technology is, thus, to provide you with a more individualized delivery of information and an optimal viewing experience. Please note that this may affect the personalized experience of your use of the website.

When you first visit our site or delete the cache on your browser you can choose to accept all cookies or to choose to reject further use of non-functional cookies.

Most browsers will also allow you to: (i) change your browser settings to notify you when you receive a cookie, which lets you choose whether or not to accept it; (ii) disable existing cookies; or (iii) set your browser to automatically reject any cookies. However, our website may not function properly if all cookies are disabled or rejected.

8.  Tracking Technologies: Web Beacons/Gifs, Pixels, Page Tags, Script

Web pages, emails and mobile apps may contain a small transparent image file or line of code to record how you interact with them. They are often used in conjunction with web browser cookies (or the unique identifier of your mobile device) and they are used to help us to better analyze and improve our services. For example, these technologies may track which web pages you visit or which elements of a page you viewed, when and for how long, whether you viewed and/or clicked on an advertisement on a site or whether you opened or clicked on marketing emails sent to you. When corresponding with you via HTML capable email, we may use "format sensing" technology, which allows pixel tags to let us know whether you received and opened our e-mail.

9.  Mobile Applications

In addition to mobile applications designed to allow you to use your Car-Net® Services, Volkswagen Canada may have mobile applications that you can download to your mobile device or vehicle (“VW Applications”). When you download a VW Application, there may be an opportunity for you to provide us with or for us to obtain information about you or your vehicle. Each VW Application will display a privacy policy that will inform you about how any new or different information shared via the application will be handled.  Otherwise, information collected via VW Applications will be the information identified above and will be used and shared as stated in this Privacy Policy.

Through the Infotainment system, VW may also offer applications developed by third parties, for example Apple CarPlay or Android Auto (“3rd Party Application”). When you download a 3rd Party Application to your mobile device or vehicle, the 3rd Party Application may collect information about you or your vehicle in connection with your download or use of that application. Volkswagen Canada is not responsible for the collection or use of information by 3rd Party Applications. We recommend that you carefully review the privacy statement and terms of use of each 3rd Party Application prior to downloading or using them.

10. Advertising and Behavioral Targeting

We may use technology to serve advertisements on our own web sites and within its content as that content is served across the Internet. In addition, we may use third-party ad networks, publishers, social media platforms, and other entities to serve targeted content and interest-based (behavioural) advertisements to you based on your profile information (including, your contact information, preferences and purchase history). For instance, we may have Facebook or Instagram serve posts to you with information about Volkswagen vehicles that we think will be of interest to you, based on your profile information. We may also use third party analytics vendors to evaluate and provide us with information about the use of our web sites and viewing of our content.

Ad network providers, data providers, publishers and other media-related companies, and/or analytics service providers may set and access their own cookies, pixel tags and similar tracking technologies on your device’s web browser and they may otherwise collect or have access to information about you. We and they may target advertisements for products and services in which you might be interested based on your visits to both the Volkswagen web sites and other web sites. We and they may use a variety of companies to serve advertisements.

You may also opt-out of network advertising programs that track your activities across multiple websites to deliver personalized advertising content to you. Please visit Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada Opt- Out Page, NAI Opt-Out Page and the Ad Choices Opt-Out Page.

These websites provide tools that identify member companies that have cookies on your browser and provides mechanisms to opt-out of those cookies. You will still receive other types of advertising from participating companies; however, it will not be based on your interests. Deleting browser cookies can remove your opt-out preferences, so you should use these tools periodically to ensure that your preferences are up-to-date.

11.  Our Commitment To Data Security

Because your privacy is important to us, we use additional technologies and measures to prevent unauthorized access or disclosure, maintain data accuracy, and ensure appropriate use of this information.

Personal information will be protected with safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information. Our employees and contractors will be made aware of the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of personal information, and we will exercise care in the disposal or destruction of personal information to prevent unauthorized parties from gaining access to it. We will safeguard personal information by physical measures (for example, locked filing cabinets and restricted access to offices), organizational measures (for example, security clearances, continued employee training and limiting access on a "need- to-know" basis), and technological measures (for example, the use of passwords and encryption).

12.  Your Consent to Our Use of Your Information

You have the choice of whether or not to give us your personal information. Your consent may be given expressly or implied, depending on the circumstances. Providing your personal information, whether in person, by telephone, or on-line, constitutes your consent to the collection, use and disclosure of such personal information by us in accordance with this Privacy Policy and with our statements provided to you at the time you provide information to us. The supply of products or services will not be conditional upon your consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information beyond that required to fulfill legitimate purposes.

At any time, subject to legal restrictions, you may withdraw, verify or change your consent to our use of your personal information, or request us to delete it from our files. For example, if you have previously consented to having your personal information used to include you in marketing campaigns, you may withdraw your consent from having your personal information used for this purpose. You may also stop the delivery of future advertising or marketing e-mails from us by clicking the unsubscribe link in the e- mail you receive. If you do not agree to our use of cookies or pixel tags at any time, you should set your browser settings accordingly. If you disable the cookies or pixel tags that we use, this may impact or prevent your user experience while on our websites.

13.  Minors

We do not seek to obtain, nor do we wish to receive, personal information directly from minors; however, we cannot always determine the age of persons who access and use our websites. If a minor (as defined by applicable law) provides us with his or her personal information without parental or guardian consent, we encourage the parent or guardian to contact us to have this information removed and to unsubscribe the minor from future Volkswagen Canada marketing communications.

14.  How You Can Access or Correct Your Information

We are committed to ensuring that the personal information we hold for each individual is accurate, up- to-date and complete. You have the right to access your personal information in our files and to update or remove that information as necessary, subject to any legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. To access your personal information, please contact us by e-mail or post at the numbers and address provided below. Please be sure to specify what information requires updating or removal. Please note that requests for access to your personal information may be refused to the extent permitted or required by law.

15.  How to Contact Us

If you wish to change your consent to our use of your information, change your privacy preferences, or update your information, or if you have any questions or concerns about our Privacy Policy, please email us at privacy@vw.ca.Open mail link

Or write to us at: 777 Bayly Street West Ajax, ON, L1S 7G7
Attention: Privacy Officer

For Volkswagen Finance privacy-related enquiries please contact our Privacy Officer at vcciprivacy@vwcredit.comOpen mail link, 500-1340 Pickering Pky, Pickering, ON, L1V 0C4, or 289-255-0403Open phone link

16.  If You Choose to Use Car-Net® Services

The Car-Net® Services are provided by or on behalf of Volkswagen Canada.  The following applies to information we obtain from and about individuals interacting with the Car-Net® Services for Volkswagen Canada Model Year 2022 vehicles and newer, and the Volkswagen Canada Car-Net®-related websites, mobile applications, and services, as well as older models if the owner or registered user upgrades to the latest version of Car-Net® Services and accepts the applicable Terms of Service.  

You can discontinue the Car-Net® Services data collection described below at any time by un-enrolling your vehicle from Car-Net® Services via the Car-Net® website, Car-Net® mobile app or by calling Car-Net Response Center at 1-833-435-1011. However, this will result in loss of Car-Net Services.

This Privacy Policy also applies to drivers and users of rental cars and other company fleet vehicles that have Car-Net® Services activated by the owner or fleet manager.  When you use the Services or drive a vehicle from such fleet with active Services, this Privacy Statement shall apply to your use. Additional data use and sharing and terms and conditions may apply to Services provided to fleet vehicles, which will govern if they conflict with this Privacy Policy. The owners or managers of the fleet may use the data collected through the Car-Net Services in additional ways that are not covered in this Privacy Policy.  Therefore, you should check with the owners or managers of the fleet or rental cars if you have questions about any requirements, limitations, or data practices that may apply to your use of the Car-Net® -equipped vehicle or Services.  Rental car companies and fleet owners are responsible for ensuring that drivers and users are made aware of this Privacy Policy and the Car-Net Terms of Service.

What Information Do We Collect?

The information that we may collect about you in connection with the Car-Net® Services is described in section above called "The Information we Collect" above.

Please note that the information stored in your vehicle (e.g., phone contacts if you pair your smartphone, points of interest saved through navigation system) may be accessible to others who use your vehicle or mobile device, and thus may be deleted, altered, or transferred. You should especially take care to delete any stored data before you sell, return (in the case of a lease) or otherwise transfer your vehicle to someone else and information stored in your vehicle may also be accessible to a new owner of your vehicle. Please consult your Owner’s Manual for instructions on how to perform a factory reset to remove information stored in your vehicle.

We do not store the content of any messages (such as social media messages) that you transmit or access through the Car-Net® Services.

How Do We Use Your Information?

In addition to the general purposes described above, we may use the information generated in association with your use of Car-Net® Services to provide you with Car-Net® Services.

We may also use or share your information in a de-identified or aggregate manner.

If you opt-in to DriveView™, we will use information collected through Car-Net® Services about your driving behavior, such as speed, braking and seat belt usage, and GPS location in order to assess your driving and routinely provide you a DriveView score (i.e. a score based on certain factors that are considered higher indicators of risk of collision, such as hard braking, nighttime driving, idle time and excessive speed).  We also will use anonymized, aggregated data to conduct driver behavior modeling (for example, comparing drivers across different provinces).  If you opt-in to DriveView™, we also will send your driver behavior and GPS location data to our insurance company partners so that they may potentially offer you discounts depending on your driving score.

You can also opt-in to DriveView™ to share your driving data and GPS location data with your existing insurance carrier, if we are able to do so.  

With Whom Do We Share Your Information?

In addition to the sharing identified above, if you subscribe to the Car-Net® Services, we may share your information with:

  • Integrated Content Providers; and
  •       Optional Third Parties.

Integrated Content Providers

The Car-Net® Services may include offerings from various third parties with whom we contract to provide their products and services through our vehicles (“Integrated Content Providers”) whose services are integral to the Car-Net® Services, and without which many of the Car-Net® Services may not work.   Volkswagen Canada collects and shares information (including your personal information) with these Integrated Content Providers and receives information from these Integrated Content Providers for the purposes of enabling you to receive certain Car-Net® Services.    

Optional Third Parties

In addition to the Integrated Content Providers’ services available as part of the Car-Net® Services, you may be able to obtain or purchase additional products or services from other third parties that we introduce or with whom you independently engage through the Car-Net platform (“Optional Third Parties”).  Such products and services are not integral to the basic operation of the Car-Net® Services, but may be added by you in order to receive additional services and/or content from the Car-Net® platform. Products or services from such Optional Third Parties will be subject to their own terms of service and privacy policy.  Examples of services provided by Optional Third Parties may potentially include: remote package; fuel or other in-vehicle delivery; car sharing; tolling pricing; usage-based insurance; or other third party services.  Products or services from such Optional Third Parties will be subject to their own separate terms and conditions and privacy statements that you will need to accept in order to take advantage of such products or services.

Wi-Fi Providers

To the extent applicable, we may share your personal information, including your name, contact information and equipment ID, with a third party mobile network operator ("Wi-Fi Provider"). The purpose for doing so is to enable the Wi-Fi Provider to: (i) provide you with the Wi-Fi services that you may request; and (ii) establish and manage its relationship with you.  For details with respect to the Wi-Fi Provider's handling of your personal information, please review its privacy policy and/or terms of service.  

First responders

We will also share your information as required with emergency services (e.g. police, ambulance) as well as roadside assistance service providers for the purposes of providing the various Car-Net emergency service functions.

Dealers

We may also provide your personal information with our authorized dealers so that they too may provide you with certain Car-Net® Services (for example, alerting you when there is a potential service needs for your vehicle).

17.  Volkswagen ID  

To sign-up for the Car-Net® Services (and potentially other services offered by or on behalf of us), you will need to create a Volkswagen ID. This will be your personal account in the digital world of Volkswagen, and will include your personal information, such as email address, phone number and address(es), password, and privacy settings.  

We may collect, use and disclose your personal information:

  • to enable you to create an account with Volkswagen which will enable you to register, subscribe and/or use various services provided by Volkswagen or third parties;   
  • to enable the provision of such services to you; and
  • for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.  

 

© Volkswagen Canada 2023

Disclaimers by Volkswagen

  • † Prices shown are MSRP where indicated. MSRP is the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price and excludes taxes, freight and PDI ($1,750 (Jetta, Jetta GLI, Golf GTI, Golf R), and $1,950 (Tiguan, Taos, Cross Sport, Atlas, ID.4), levies, fees, optional equipment, license, insurance, registration, and any dealer or other charges (where applicable). If MSRP is not mentioned, prices shown include freight and PDI, environmental levies and a representative dealer admin fee (actual fee amount is set by dealers and varies).  Environmental or related levies and taxes may vary by jurisdiction. Dealer may sell for less. Prices are in Canadian dollars. This is not an offer to sell at a certain price. Actual selling prices and terms are set by dealers.  European or American models may be shown. Specifications, equipment, options and prices are subject to change without notice. Although we endeavour to ensure that the information contained on the website is accurate, as errors may occur from time to time, customers should contact their local Volkswagen dealer for details. Photos for illustration purposes only. Some items, such as wheels, may be unavailable on some trim levels when vehicle is built or may not be available in Canada.
  • ‡Due to supply chain disruptions, certain trim levels may not be readily available and require a factory order from your Volkswagen dealer. Wait times will vary as a result of these supply chain disruptions, with current lead time for factory orders estimated between 6 – 8 months for most models, and approximately 18 months for the ID.4, subject to change without notice. Actual delivery dates could be affected by various factors beyond Volkswagen Canada’s and Volkswagen Canada Dealer’s control. Volkswagen Canada or Volkswagen Dealers will not be liable for any such delay in delivery. Supply chain disruptions can cause changes in available standard and/or optional equipment. The MSRP for a vehicle will be adjusted if specific equipment is not included. Please contact your dealer for more information.