DETROIT/BERLIN (Reuters) -- Volkswagen expects "limited growth" in the United States over the next two years and will focus on defending the market share it has, the top executive for the region said, suggesting the German automaker will fall short of an ambitious 2018 sales target.

VW's U.S. chief, Michael Horn, downplayed the importance of hitting annual U.S. sales of 800,000 vehicles by 2018, a goal VW CEO Martin Winterkorn has held to despite slumping U.S. sales for the brand over the past two years.

The 2018 sales target "is still a relevant objective ... but, on the other hand, if you just focus on one year and one number you would do crazy things, so the most important thing is to have a long-term strategy," Horn said.

Horn's comments represent a new realism about the uphill climb VW faces in the U.S., despite $1 billion invested for a new factory near Chattanooga, Tennessee. The brand's U.S. struggles were a key issue behind the clash this year between Winterkorn and former Chairman Ferdinand Piech that resulted in Piech's April resignation.

Now, Horn must sustain the brand in the world's richest auto market through a product drought, even as Detroit's General Motors, Ford Motor and Asian rivals such as Hyundai and Toyota are pumping out new models in hot segments, such as midsize sport utilities, where VW has little new to offer.

"There will be a phase until 2017 where we have limited growth ... and where we need to defend our position," Horn said in an interview with Reuters at the company's U.S. headquarters in suburban Washington.

The VW brand's current U.S. lineup is heavy on compact cars and midsize sedans at a time when consumers favor SUVs of all sizes. The brand will get a new mid-size SUV and a redesigned Tiguan crossover in 2017 and other new models, including eventually a $20,000 compact SUV, which will follow at a faster pace than before, Horn said.

Falling sales

Volkswagen brand sales in the United States have been sliding since 2012, when they reached nearly 440,000 vehicles. U.S. sales fell to 367,000 vehicles last year and are down another 4 percent this year through May. The VW brand sold almost 570,000 vehicles in 1970, its U.S. peak year.

VW's U.S. market accounted for 5.8 percent of total year-to-date sales for the parent company, whose brands also include luxury division Audi and sports-car maker Porsche.

Industry consultant LMC Automotive forecasts new models will push the VW brand's U.S. sales back to 495,000 vehicles in 2018 -- well short of the 800,000 figure Winterkorn has targeted.

The company does not break out U.S. profits by brand but a person familiar with the company said the brand has not turned a profit in the United States throughout Winterkorn's eight-year tenure. Winterkorn has pledged to commit more time to U.S. operations to tackle the trouble spots.

Stronger voice

Dealers and former VW executives expect Horn, a VW veteran of almost 25 years, to have a stronger voice at headquarters. Horn's to-do list includes getting core VW models like the Jetta and Passat on track to be redesigned every five years, instead of riding for seven years between overhauls.

The company will shift its U.S. offerings towards trucks and SUVs, reflecting market demand. Besides new SUVs, Horn said VW is studying a large pickup for the U.S. market -- an idea that has been percolating at VW for years. That vehicle would not come before 2020, he said. The idea got support earlier this month by Bernd Osterloh, head of VW's works council.

Meanwhile, Horn is assembling a team of 200 engineers and product planners in Chattanooga. Those engineers could help tailor models to U.S. consumer tastes, more quickly adding technology like Bluetooth connectivity and USB ports as standard features.

Alan Brown, partner at a VW dealer that in February opened a $25 million facility in Frisco, Texas, said he and other dealers met with Winterkorn in Germany in March and are behind the U.S. plan.

"I think the future is going to tell us that Winterkorn and Horn got the job done," he said.

Uno dei principali punti di scontro tra Winterkorn e Piech riguardava i disastrosi risultati del marchio Vw negli Stati Uniti, Winterkorn puntava a vendere 800.000 Vw, nel 2015 non arriveranno a 350.000 mentre Porsche e Audi hanno già battutto i target previsti per il 2018.
Per rilanciare la divisione americana verranno lanciati 2 suv specifici per il Nordamerica e la vita media dei modelli verrà ridotta da 7 a 5 anni.
La perla vera è che Vw sta pensando a lanciare un full size pick up contro Ram, Silverado e F-150.
Se veramente lo faranno la Phaeton verrà dimenticata da una catastrofe finanziaria senza precedenti.

Quindi sconsigli a vag di fare questo enorme pick up?

Il segmento full size pick up ( oltre i 5 mt per intenderci) e' super redditizio ma è dominato dagli incentivi, ad esempio Chrysler per piazzare i suoi Ram deve regalare 5.500 dollari di sconto per ogni modello. Chevrolet sconta i suoi silverado di 3.500 dollari e Ford con il nuovissimo F-150 di 2.000.
Più del 90% dei pick up negli Stati Uniti vengono acquistati negli stati centrali dove la presenza delle concessionarie Vw e' molto più scarsa che sulla East o sulla West coast.
Questo tipo di pick ha successo solo in Nord America, per il resto del mondo sono troppo grandi e consumano come petroliere.
Nissan e Toyota hanno ben un'altra storia e presenza rispetto a Vw negli USA e nonostante miliardi investiti hanno subito rovesci notevoli.
Il segmento dei full size pick up e' l'unico (insieme alle pony car) che è rimasto saldamente in mano alle Big3.
Vw non ha la storia, i contenuti tecnici e la rete per cercare di scalfire il predominio di Gm, Ford e FCA in quel segmento.
Dovrebbero affrettarsi a lanciare i programmati 3 suv invece che fantasticare.
Hanno nominato il capo del sindacato Osterloh a dirigere la supervisione della divisione americana.
Ma come si fa?

Hai ragione, poi alla fine penso sia "normale" che non puoi essere leader in tutto il mondo, meglio farsene una ragione che gli Usa non sono fatti per vw e puntare sull'eu dove gli basterà avere 2o3 suv-crossover B-C per continuare la cavalcata.

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ALFA ROMEO GIULIETTA jtdm-2 20 170cv- distinctive-pack premium-pack sport 18 - Luglio 2010 -superati i 313.333KM!!!

Se vuoi essere un vero costruttore globale devi avere una solida presenza negli States, Piech lo ha sempre sostenuto e Winterkorn e' d'accordo.
Una quota del 6% dovrebbe essere il minimo per loro ma si devono rendere conto ( verbalmente lo ammettono ma poi fanno il contrario) che le auto per gli americani devono essere concepite in modo diverso da quelle per gli europei.
La formula del quasi premium negli USA non funziona, soprattutto devono puntare a migliorare le posizioni nella classifica JD Power altrimenti non vanno da nessuna parte.
Per 2 anni circa saranno costretti a temporeggiare poi tra il 2017 e il 2018 arriveranno il suv medio Crossblue, la Tiguan 2, la Jetta VII, la Passat USA II e la Golf VIII, in tal modo potranno costruire la base per una vera crescita.
La speranza e' che Diess capisc meglio il mercato e che non venga cacciato rapidamente dai sindacati.

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July 13, 2015 06:01 CET
BERLIN (Reuters) -- Volkswagen Group is still looking for a successor to former chairman Ferdinand Piech, meaning the interim holder of the position, Berthold Huber, is likely to stay until at least the end of the year, a German newspaper reported on Sunday.

Following the departure of patriarch Ferdinand Piech in April, who resigned after losing a showdown with CEO Martin Winterkorn, former IG Metall union boss Huber was meant to hold the role for only a few months, Bild am Sonntag reported.

But one candidate, Wolfgang Porsche, who already sits on the supervisory board, has said he is not available for the role, Bild said without citing its sources.

The paper said Porsche's nephew, Ferdinand Oliver Porsche, is also a candidate, as is Winterkorn.

Volkswagen declined to comment on the article.

Separately, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Saturday that works council boss Bernd Osterloh felt he should remain as part of the works council, rather than taking up a position on the carmaker's executive board, as had been under discussion.

I membri del consiglio di supervisione di Vw non sono ancora riusciti ad accordarsi per l'elezione del l'erede di Ferdinand Piech, il successore naturale sarebbe Wolfgang Porsche ( presidente di Porsche Se che controlla il 53% di Vw) ma ha rifiutato l'incarico, segno che c'è ancora una fortissima tensione all'interno delle 2 famiglie.
Intanto il potere del sindacato aumenta sempre di più, le intromissioni nel lavoro di Winterkorn sul piano di riorganizzazione di Vw sono ormai giornaliere.

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Vw T-Roc 1.0
Guidavo Alfa 147 JTDm e Mazda MX-5 NC 1.8

Volkswagen AG is delaying the introduction of the new Phaeton as the automaker seeks to improve returns on the slow-selling luxury sedan by lowering production and material costs, people familiar with the matter said.

Even though a new version of one of VW’s least successful models is ready for production, the manufacturer is again reworking the Phaeton, which costs more than three times the mid-sized Passat sedan, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the discussions are private. The Wolfsburg, Germany-based automaker didn’t comment on its plans for the model.

The 89,650-euro ($101,000) Phaeton, a pet project of engineering-obsessed former Chairman Ferdinand Piech, is an anomaly in VW’s lineup of pragmatic sedans, hatchbacks and SUVs. The car is manually assembled in a special facility in Dresden by technicians wearing white uniforms and sometimes white gloves. The modelfeatures hand-selected wood veneers in the interior and seats adjustable in 18 different ways.

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“There is always the element of the Phaeton being the answer to a question no one ever asked,” said Tim Urquhart, a London-based analyst at market researcher IHS Automotive. “Who wants a VW limousine?”

Piech, who stepped down in April after a power struggle with Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn, ordered development of the Phaeton to challenge VW engineers and take on the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. He demanded a car that could drive comfortably at speeds as high as 300 kilometers per hour (186 mph). The vehicle, which also competes with the A8 from Volkswagen’s Audi unit, started production in 2002 and has been largely unchanged since.

Trailing Peugeot

While Mercedes sold more than 100,000 S-Class cars last year, VW made about 4,000 Phaetons, a drop of 30 percent. That’s the lowest volume for an existing VW production vehicle, including the Eos convertible, which is being cut. The Phaeton amounts to less than a rounding error for a brand that made 6.16 million vehicles in 2014, but is important as a flagship.

Reworking the model would send a signal that Volkswagen is moving on from the Piech era to focus more on profitability. The namesake VW brand generated operating profit equivalent to 2.7 percent of sales in the first half, compared with a 5 percent margin at rival PSA Peugeot Citroen.

Herbert Diess, who previously headed purchasing and development at BMW AG, has been in charge of the VW brand since July. He’s tasked with lifting margins at the automaker’s biggest unit to more than 6 percent by 2018. His ability to turn around projects like the Phaeton will be a key test for one of the candidates to eventually succeed Winterkorn as CEO.

In the past, tinkering with the Phaeton has ended careers at Volkswagen. The decision by Wolfgang Bernhard to pull the car from the U.S. market in 2006 because of weak demand contributed to the ouster of the executive, who ran the VW brand at the time and now heads Daimler AG’s trucks division.

With Piech gone and no longer around to defend the Phaeton,

it is surprising VW is sticking with model, said IHS’s Urquhart. “And given the current drive to save costs at VW, it is even more lucky to survive.”

VW ha fermato lo sviluppo della Phaeton in modo da ridurre i costi. L'auto e' pronta ma sarebbe un ulteriore bagno di sangue.

Colpa anche del peggioramento dell'outlook dell'economia cinese?

Sicuramente, la Phaeton aveva ottenuto un pochino di successo solo lì. Non la cancelleranno perché hanno già terminato lo sviluppo ma cercheranno di ridurre i costi il più possibile.

Staff and wire reports
Automotive News Europe
September 2, 2015 10:02 CET
FRANKFURT -- Volkswagen Group plans to extend the contract of CEO Martin Winterkorn until the end of 2018, a victory for the executive after he clashed with former Chairman Ferdinand Piech.

VW today said its supervisory board's executive committee had proposed extending Winterkorn's contract. The 20-member supervisory board is now expected to formally vote to approve Winterkorn's contract extension on Sept. 25.

Winterkorn is revamping Volkswagen's corporate structure into a decentralized system with four holding companies in a bid to boost profits at the carmaker, three VW sources told Reuters in June.

VW Group's 12 brands include Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini and Bentley, along with the core VW brand and the Skoda and Seat marques.

VW is still looking for a permanent successor to Piech after installing former union boss Berthold Huber as interim chairman while it looks for a more permanent candidate. Piech resigned from the post earlier this year amid disagreements over VW's strategy and direction.

With Winterkorn “at the helm, we will continue on our successful path of recent years,” Huber said in a statement.

Winterkorn's contract was due to expire in 2016.

Succession speculation

Market analysts Evercore ISI said Winterkorn retention of the CEO role likely meant that he will not become chairman because he will be 71 in 2018 and too old.

"This increases the chances for an external chairman, which is good news in our view," Evercore ISI's global research head, Arndt Ellinghorst, said in an emailed statement. Former Ford Motor and BMW executive Wolfgang Reitzle, who is currently Continental's chairman, has been touted as a candidate.

The new VW brand CEO Herbert Diess will be able to turn around the group's biggest brand with backing from Winterkorn, Ellinghorst said.

Potential candidates to succeed Winterkorn as group CEO also now have two to three years to prove themselves, he added.

Eventual candidates for the CEO position include Diess; Rupert Stadler, who runs Audi; and group Chief Financial Officer Hans Dieter Poetsch. Porsche-brand CEO Matthias Mueller, 62, who has been touted as a potential successor, will be too old for the VW top job by 2018, Ellinghorst said.

Under Winterkorn’s leadership, VW is closing in on Toyota Motor as the world’s biggest automaker, with the German manufacturer overtaking its Japanese competitor in sales in the first half. VW’s six-month sales amounted to 5.04 million cars and trucks, exceeding Toyota’s 5.02 million deliveries. VW has a goal of becoming the No. 1 carmaker by 2018.

Vw ha deciso di allungare il contratto di Winterkorn per altri 2 anni, in tal modo i vari pretendenti al trono ( Diess capo di Vw passenger cars, Renschler ceo delle divisioni camion pesanti, Vahland ceo di Skoda e Stadler ceo di Audi) potranno dimostrare se hanno le capacità di guidare il gruppo.

http://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen ... 73850.html

Sembra che Vw sia riuscita a mettersi dietro completamente la caduta di Piech perché oggi il consiglio di sorveglianza ha deciso di nominare come presidente Hans Dieter Pötsch , attuale capo delle finanze del gruppo.
La scelta mi pare eccellente, Pötsch è riuscito negli anni 2000 a ridurre le eccessive spese di Vw, quando arrivò a Wolfsburg i profitti operativi non arrivavano a 2,4 miliardi di euro, l'anno scorso erano a 17,9. Per le famiglie Porsche e Piech invece è un segnale di debolezza, pur avendo il 53% della società non hanno espresso un candidato proveniente dalle loro fila.
I Piech non hanno voluto Hans Oliver Porsche e i Porsche hanno sbarrato la strada a Hans Michael Piech.

http://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/u ... 86823.html

Poteva Piech godersi una meritata pensione a 78 anni?
No, infatti ha bloccato Winterkorn pur non avendo nessuna carica all'interno di Vw.
Inizialmente Winterkorn doveva diventare presidente del consiglio di sorveglianza e Pötsch amministratore delegato ma Piech ha schierato i suoi fedelissimi nel management contro Winterkorn, ha fatto svuotare di funzioni la carica di presidente del consiglio di sorveglianza e ha battuto i pugni in Porsche Se holding contro fratelli e cugini.
Le chance di Winterkorn di diventare presidente del consiglio di sorveglianza sono praticamente scomparse e Diess sta conquistando sempre più potere.
Quando Beautiful terminerà potranno creare una soap opera a Wolfsburg.

Si apre un periodo ponte per il design del Gruppo Volkswagen: io dovrò fare il traghettatore. Insieme a Filippo Perini, direttore dello stile Italdesign. A Torino nasceranno l’Accademia Italdesign e un Museo: il magistero della carrozzeria italiana». Così parla De Silva, alla conferenza stampa che annuncia la sua nomina a presidente di Italdesign, e quella di Filippo Perini. «Mi assumo la responsabilità della presidenza - prosegue il design lecchese a capo dello stile del gruppo tedesco -, quindi dei risultati che questa azienda dovrà dare. Arrivo dopo il mio amico Giorgetto Giugiaro, alla cui immensa eredità non sarà facile dare un seguito adeguato. Ma dal 1° settembre abbiamo lanciato lo slogan “Innovazione e design”. La parola innovazione sarà uno dei perni del nostro lavoro. Senza innovazione non c’è futuro».

Vw ha nominato la nuova dirigenza di Italdesign, penso che De Silva entro 2 anni andrà in pensione.

VW design chief De Silva will strengthen Italdesign as innovation center
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Italdesign will develop concepts that could become a platform for future VW Group innovations, de Silva says.
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Automotive News Europe
September 13, 2015 13:15 CET
TURIN – Volkswagen Group design chief Walter De Silva will strengthen the role of Italdesign Giugiaro as an innovation center after replacing Giorgetto Giugiaro as the Italian design house's chairman.

De Silva became chairman of Italdesign on Sept. 1, succeeding Giugiaro, who resigned in June from the styling and engineering company he co-founded in 1968.

De Silva, 64, will retain his role as VW Group design director overseeing all group brands including Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini and the mass-market VW, Skoda and Seat marques.

Lamborghini’s head of design, Filippo Perini, 50, is Italdesign’s new design director. Perini succeeds Wolfgang Egger, Audi’s former chief designer, who has returned to Germany to head VW Group’s interbrand design studio in Brunswick after spending just over a year at Italdesign. Perini keeps his current role at Lamborghini.

Giugiaro, 77, and his son, Fabrizio, have cut their ties with Italdesign. On June 28 they sold the 9.9 percent stake they had kept in the company after VW’s Audi bought 90.1 percent of Italdesign in 2010.

Bigger role

De Silva said that the design house will now have a greater role as a design and engineering innovation center for all VW Group’s 12 brands.

He will also give VW Group’s brand centers more power. These should become “ambassadors” for good design and also create “stunning” cars that will be acclaimed globally, he told Automotive News Europe.

Italdesign will compete with the brand design centers on new production models and it will also develop “design and engineering concepts that could become a platform for future interbrand innovations,” he said.

De Silva believes the role of design and of designers should be redefined in today’s fast-changing industry. Design is being revolutionized because stylists can now build a car for production with designs from a 3D printer, so old distinctions are no longer meaningful, he said.

De Silva and Perini head Italdesign’s the creative team while former VW executive Joerg Astalosch, 43, is new CEO, replacing Enzo Pacella, who will continue to serve the company as a consultant for public affairs.

Astalosch said Italdesign’s workforce will be more than 1,000 by the end of the year, thanks to 50 new hires. He said that Italdesign last year increased revenues by 19 million euros to 189 million but declined to give a forecast for the current year.

De Silva will reduce his working hours at VW’s headquarters in Wolfsburg to spend time at Italdesign, which is based in the southern outskirts of Turin.

New academy

Italdesign will open an academy offering postgraduate courses to 50-60 of the most promising young designers from around the world. The academy is planned to be fully operational in 2018 when Italdesign has its 50th anniversary.

The academy will teach wider cultural aspects including fine arts, history and philosophy to help its students become better designers. “Good design is a product of good culture," de Silva said.

The academy’s teachers will be from within VW Group but also from outside the automaker and from other disciplines to offer a multicultural approach. Students will also have a chance to gain work experience at Lamborghini and at the motorcycle builder Ducati, which is owned VW.

Egger non lascerà Vw come molti avevano predetto ma diventerà il direttore del centro stile Vw di Braunschweig.

Peccato

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ALFA ROMEO GIULIETTA jtdm-2 20 170cv- distinctive-pack premium-pack sport 18 - Luglio 2010 -superati i 313.333KM!!!

A causa dello scandalo diesel la riorganizzazione del gruppo ( che doveva essere firmata insieme al rinnovo del contratto di Wimterkorn questo venerdì) e' per adesso accantonata ma dovrà essere ripresentata tra qualche mese dal nuovo ceo.
L'azienda dovrebbe essere riorganizzata in 4 holding
1) Auto popolari Vw, Skoda e Seat
2) Audi, Ducati e Lamborghini
3) Veicoli commerciali Vw, Scania e Man
4) superlusso con Porsche Bentley e Bugatti

Si parla apertamente di rifocalizzare Vw lontano dai tentativi premium, in quest'ottica Phaeton e Touareg verrebbero cancellate.

Alla fine magari ne verrano fuori più forti di prima, lasciando perdere il marchio usa con "improbabili" auto popolari genere usa-japan e all'opposto lasciando perdere auto stile phateon-touareg soprattutto ora che la cina tira un pò meno.
Secondo me In italia-eu basta che calino un attimino coi prezzi (però ovvio guadagneranno di meno) e in poco tempo tornerà tutto come prima.

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ALFA ROMEO GIULIETTA jtdm-2 20 170cv- distinctive-pack premium-pack sport 18 - Luglio 2010 -superati i 313.333KM!!!

Se saranno in grado di dominare lo scandalo, ed è un se enorme...
Era ora che riorganizzassero, con fuori Winterkorn e Piech si possono pensare cambiamenti più radicali.

Vedremo, la mia era una provocazione.....certo sul brevissimo termine questa storia non da immagine, e secondo me ad esempio in FCA si stanno mangiando le mani ad aver fatto partire troppo tardi il progetto di giulia, ben gli sta ad aver bloccato tutto nel 2011-12 , mentre renault nel segmento medio dove è fortissima vw potrebbe trarre vantaggio con le nuove segmento C 5pt-suv.

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ALFA ROMEO GIULIETTA jtdm-2 20 170cv- distinctive-pack premium-pack sport 18 - Luglio 2010 -superati i 313.333KM!!!

Renault e´quella che potrebbe guadagnarci di piu´grazie ad una gamma che sta diventando moderna velocissimamente, gia´e´in strada la nuova Scenic, forse anche Ford e Opel potrebbero approfittarne.

The Volkswagen Group is restructuring: Supervisory Board passes resolutions for new organization
• Brands and regions to be strengthened
• Vahland moves from Škoda to the Volkswagen brand Board of Management
• De Meo, Maier and Stackmann in new functions
• Board Member for Sales Klingler leaves the Group
• Contract with Board member for Procurement Garcia Sanz extended

The Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG approved a new management structure for the Group and the brands as well as for the North America region today (Friday) in Wolfsburg. The interim Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Berthold Huber, commented: “The new structure strengthens the brands and regions, gives the Group Board of Management the necessary leeway for strategy and steering within the company, and lays a focus on the targeted development of future-oriented fields.”
Details of major changes:
Reorganization of the North America region / Successor Prof. Vahland
The Supervisory Board decided on the reorganization of the Group’s activities in North America. The markets in the USA, Mexico, and Canada will be combined and significantly strengthened to form a new North America region. Effective November 1, the Group’s activities in the region will be led by Prof. Dr. Winfried Vahland (58), formerly Chairman of the Board of Directors at Škoda, who in this new role becomes a member of the Volkswagen brand Board of Management. Prof. Vahland’s successor as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Škoda will be Bernhard Maier (55), until now Board Member for Sales and Marketing of Porsche AG. Michael Horn (52) remains President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America.
Porsche brand group with Bentley and Bugatti
At Group level the management structure will be oriented even more systematically to the modular toolkits. These toolkits feature standardized technical components for each automotive vehicle segment (volume, premium, sport and commercial vehicles). Consequently, a Porsche brand group with Bentley and Bugatti will be established for the sportscar and mid-engine toolkit. The toolkit strategy will come under the even closer guidance of the Group CEO; a separate department will be set up for this purpose. The Audi brand group with Lamborghini and Ducati will be continued as will the Truck Holding, and the Power Engineering and Financial Services business lines. The volume brands Volkswagen (with principal responsibility for the modular transverse toolkit), SEAT, and Škoda will be represented by one member each in the Group Board of Management.
New Group functions for efficiency and future-oriented fields
Group functions will concentrate more closely on efficiency and future-oriented fields; organizational units, for example for Group product strategy, new business fields, cooperations and holdings, connected car activities, and CO2 steering, will therefore be set up. According to Huber, “new, strong Group functions, such as for standardization and harmonized production processes, will lay the timely foundations for efficient decision-making. We will become faster and more agile.” Furthermore, a Chief Technology Officer will analyze and, if necessary, co-steer technical developments throughout the Group as mandated by the Group Board of Management.
Upgrading of brands and regions
At the same time, existing corporate bodies, structures and processes will be streamlined at Group level, in particular by strengthening the brands and regional accountability. To that end the Volkswagen brand will introduce a management structure with four regions, each led by a local CEO with a direct reporting line to the brand Chairman, Herbert Diess.
Streamlining the Group Board of Management
The production department at Group level, until now led by Thomas Ulbrich in an interim capacity, will be abolished with immediate effect. This is one consequence of delegating responsibility to the brands and regions. Berthold Huber commented: “Going forward, the brands and regions will also have greater independence with regard to production. So it follows that they should also hold the responsibility for these activities.”
The interim Supervisory Board Chairman emphasized that “one key point is that we are scaling back complexity in the Group. In recent weeks, we have already undertaken important steps such as separating Group and brand functions.” He said the developments of the last few days had underscored the urgency of this project: “We will not lose any time. The new management model will be implemented at the beginning of 2016.” This would bring the Board greater freedom to address urgent issues concerning Group strategy, development and steering.
Further Board of Management changes
The Supervisory Board extended the contract with Francisco Javier Garcia Sanz (58), Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft with responsibility for Procurement, by five years.
Christian Klingler (47), member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft with responsibility for Sales and Marketing and member of the Volkswagen brand Board of Management with responsibility for Sales and Marketing, is leaving the company with immediate effect as part of long-term planned structural changes and as a result of differences with regard to business strategy. This is not related to recent events. The new CEO Matthias Müller will head the Sales department at Group level in an interim capacity until further notice.
Jürgen Stackmann (54), previously Chairman of SEAT, will take over Christian Klingler’s function as a member of the Volkswagen brand Board of Management. Stackmann is succeeded by Luca de Meo (48), currently Audi AG Board of Management member for Sales and Marketing. These personnel changes become effective from October 1.

Il consiglio di sorveglianza di Vw ha nominato oggi Matthias Müller come ceo del gruppo, i cambiamenti sono stati enormi e non tutti derivano dall'attuale crisi.

-Müller e' diventato ceo grazie all'esperienza in tutte le divisioni del gruppo, grandi successi ottenuti alla Porsche e ai contatti con le famiglie Porsche e Piech. Piech puntava su lui già ad aprile, sarà un caso?

-la struttura del gruppo viene radicalmente modificata per rendere il gruppo più agevole, una necessità più che mai sentita.
Ci saranno 4 gruppi 1) Vw, Skoda e Seat con a capo Diess 2) Audi, Ducati e Lamborghini 3) Man, Scania e Vw veicoli commerciali 4) Porsche, Bentley e Bugatti.
Lo stesso marchio Vw verrà diviso in 4 aree mondiali per rispondere alle sfide che non è riuscito a raccogliere negli ultimi anni.

-Nell'area più disastrosa il Nord America verrà spedito Vahland, attuale ceo di Skoda, ha una missione al limite dell'impossibile, non è neanche escluso che il gruppo abbandoni il mercato statunitense del tutto.

-Stackmann attuale ceo di Seat diventerà capo delle vendite del gruppo, Klingler attuale direttore delle vendite abbandona il gruppo.

-De Meo passa dalla direzione vendite e marketing alla presidenza di Seat, Bernhard Maier diventerà ceo di Skoda provenendo dalle vendite di Porsche.

Diversi manager sono stati cacciati ma Vw non ha ancora annunciato i licenziati.
Il difficile comincia adesso.

Nun genügten Wortmeldungen per Fingerzeig – und ein Saalmikrophon. Einer der Teilnehmer etwa wollte wissen, ob die von VW öffentlich annoncierten Rückstellungen in Höhe von 6,5 Milliarden Euro denn wohl ausreichend bemessen seien. In seiner Antwort ließ Finanzchef Pötsch, der designierte Vorsitzende des VW-Aufsichtsrats, anklingen, dass die genannte Summe in erster Linie für die technologischen Lösungen der Abgasaffäre und Kundenmaßnahmen vorgesehen ist. "Honorare für all die Juristen und die Mittel für Schadenersatzleistungen kommen oben drauf", seufzte eine VW-Führungskraft. "Wir haben den Schlamassel zwar noch lange nicht hinter uns, aber unser Blick geht nach vorn".


Alla riunione di ieri Pötsch ha detto che i 6,5 miliardi messi da parte da Vw sono solo per i cambiamenti tecnici delle auto colpite da richiami, le cause e le multe dovranno ricevere altri accantonamenti.
Vw dovrà salutare una buona parte dei 30 miliardi di liquidità che aveva.

Dubito fortemente che il gruppo abbia intenzione di abbandonare il Nord America.
Forse il marchio VW sparirà (dubito anche di questo), ma non rinunceranno mai alle vendite di Audi e Lamborghini.
Secondo me metteranno una croce sul diesel e continueranno con i TSI installati sulle varie Passat, Jetta ecc.

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La vendetta è una pigra forma di sofferenza

Non esistono donne brutte, ho solo bevuto troppo poco per farmele....

Non esserne così sicuro, già il marchio Vw andava male e perdeva soldi in Nord America, adesso perderà molto di più e impiegherà anni riguadagnare la fiducia, se mai ce la farà.
Bisogna vedere se la futura Vw avrà ancora i mezzi per poter continuare ad offrire le proprie auto negli Stati Uniti.
Il diesel negli States ha ricevuto un colpo durissimo.

Forse non mi sono spiegato bene.
Dubito che VW come GRUPPO sia intenzionato a lasciare gli States.
VW come marchio ha subito un colpo durissimo.
Il Diesel come tecnologia ha subito un colpo durissimo.
VW tra l'altro è stato il marchio con cui hanno iniziato a proporre il Diesel negli USA, pertanto al momento è morto.
Di contro Audi non ha (quasi) mai proposto diesel negli USA

Se sono un minimo accorti riescono a mantenere la presenza negli USA tramite Audi e gli altri marchi premium.
Servirà a mantenere un minimo di rete di vendita ed a tenere la porta socchiusa per ritentare con VW tra un po' di anni

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La vendetta è una pigra forma di sofferenza


Non esistono donne brutte, ho solo bevuto troppo poco per farmele....

Molto probabilmente hai ragione tu, al limite ritireranno il marchio Vw e lasceranno Audi, Lamborghini e Bentley.
Le perdite per i prossimi 2 anni saranno fortissime in Nord America, poi c'è la questione delle cause.
Anni duri per Wolfsburg.

Potrebbero rientrare, a tempo debito, con l'elettrico... per far dimenticare il diesel. Cioè: fra molti anni.

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Come si corre a Indy? Semplice: acceleri, vai diritto e prendi la prima a sinistra. Ripeti tutto 799 volte e hai vinto.

Per adesso vendono la golf elettrica con discreto successo.

Questa?

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La vendetta è una pigra forma di sofferenza


Non esistono donne brutte, ho solo bevuto troppo poco per farmele....