Volkswagen replaces Audi CEO as brand lags behind rivals

afr.com:

Volkswagen named a new chief executive officer for Audi after the luxury brand fell behind competitors BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

VW insider Gernot Döllner will take over September 1, Audi said on Thursday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg report that the company would remove current CEO Markus Duesmann. VW shares traded 0.7 per cent higher in Frankfurt.

Earlier this month, VW CEO Oliver Blume singled out Audi’s slow progress on innovation as a key area of concern. Bloomberg

Mr Duesmann, 54, has led the brand – VW’s cash cow alongside Porsche – since 2021. During the former BMW executive’s tenure, Audi for a time led VW’s ill-fated software efforts that have delayed key models. Earlier this month, VW CEO Oliver Blume singled out Audi’s slow progress on innovation as a key area of concern.

Mr Blume, leading VW for less than a year, is seeking to step up improvements at Europe’s biggest carmaker to keep up in the electric-car and digital transition.

After the company sketched out the costliest EV investments in the industry under Mr Blume’s predecessor Herbert Diess, VW is prioritising execution and product delivery after software glitches irked customers and the carmaker has fallen behind in China. Döllner, a former Porsche executive alongside Mr Blume and 30-year company veteran, last led strategy for the VW group.

Mr Duesmann’s departure is the latest in a string of management shakeups as Mr Blume makes his mark to make the sprawling carmaker more nimble and boost margins.

Last year, he shrank VW’s bloated management board, removing the sales and procurement positions. He also installed a new lead for the struggling Cariad software unit.

At VW’s investor earlier this month, Mr Blume said Audi’s model lineup was lagging the