Volkswagen board removed Chief Executive Matthias Müller and succeeded him with Herbert Diess, who discreetly organized a boardroom coup while he was remaking the organization’s namesake image. The move comes almost three years after Volkswagen confessed to rigging 11 million diesel-fueled vehicles to undermine emissions tests, starting an extensive review and criminal prosecutions, while costing the organization more than $25 billion in fines, punishments, consumer compensation, and other charges.
The worldwide automobile industry is experiencing enormous changes. Ever harder emissions control is driving the improvement of electric autos, and innovation organizations are moving into the core business of regular car producers.
“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,” Hans Dieter Potsch, VW board chairman, said in a news release announcing the change. “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 the thanks of the entire Company.”
Müller was made CEO in September 2015, supplanting the disfavored leader, Martin Winterkorn, who was compelled to leave in the wake of the diesel scandal. Mr. Müller drove a charge to redesign the organization’s corporate culture, accelerate the advancement of electric vehicles, and steer the organization through its most noticeably awful crisis ever.
Diess will likewise have extensively more power than his forerunner. He will be CEO of the whole organization, yet will likewise be accountable for the volume auto business, adding Skoda and Seat to his present place of employment of running the Volkswagen mark. The Porsche brand would take control of a more extensive sports car group that would likewise incorporate Lamborghini, Bugatti, and Bentley. Audi is required to stay free as the organization’s superior image.
“In a phase of profound upheaval in the automotive industry, it is vital for Volkswagen to pick up speed,” Mr. Diess said Thursday. “The Volkswagen Group is a union of strong brands with great potential.
Matthias Müller has laid the groundwork for our transformation. My most important task 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 digitalization of the automobile and transportation as well as new mobility services.”
