According to reports from Germany, the decision taken by the Supervisory Board of the Volkswagen Group not only sees former BMW Board Management Executive and current Volkswagen Brand Management Head Herbert Diess replace Mueller as new CEO, but also results in current Audi boss, Rupert Stadler, overseeing sales within the group, while Porsche CEO, Oliver Blume, takes charge of group production.
In a statement, Supervisory Board Chairman, Hans Dieter Pötsch, said the decision by Mueller, who replaced Martin Winterkorn in 2015 after revelations about the Dieselgate emissions scandal become public knowledge, to step down was mutual, adding that he had made the company “more robust than ever before”.
“Matthias Müller has done outstanding work for the Volkswagen Group. He assumed the chairmanship of the Board of Management in the fall of 2015 when the company faced the greatest challenge in its history,” Pötsch said.
“Not only did he safely navigate Volkswagen through that time; together with his team, he also fundamentally realigned the Group’s strategy, initiated cultural change and, with great personal commitment, made sure that the Volkswagen Group not just stayed on track but is now more robust than ever before. For that, he is due to the thanks of the entire Company”.
As well as Stadler and Blume, the latter also being appointed to the Board of Management, Volkswagen Group Works Council Secretary-General, Gunnar Kilian, replaces Karlheinz Blessing to the Management Board and of Human Resources.
“The Volkswagen Group’s goal is and remains to align the company and its brands with future needs, to safeguard its position among the leaders of the international automotive industry with innovativeness and profitability and to be instrumental in shaping tomorrow’s personal mobility,” Pötsch continued.
“Herbert Diess is the right manager to do that. In realigning the Volkswagen brand, he has demonstrated to impressive effect the speed and rigour with which he can implement radical transformation processes. This accomplishment makes him predestined to fully implement our Strategy 2025 in the decisive years that are now to follow.”
Speaking of his appointment, Diess, who will also be responsible for six newly created groups, Volume, Premium and Super Premium as well as the truck & bus division and a special Chinese market section, stated that Mueller “had laid the groundwork for our transformation” and that the main aim “will now be to join with our management team and our Group workforce in consistently pursuing and pushing forward our evolution into a profitable, world-leading provider of sustainable mobility”.
“In a phase of profound upheaval in the automotive industry, it is vital for Volkswagen to pick up speed and make an unmistakable mark in e-mobility, the digitalisation of the automobile and transportation as well as new mobility services”.
The changes are reportedly expected to be implemented with immediate effect.
IMAGE from motor1.com
