Status: December 9, 2021 at 6:14 pm.
Herbert Diess remains VW boss – but with less skill. The supervisory board on Thursday also informed about investments up to 2026. 21 billion flows in Lower Saxony alone.
The Prime Minister of Lower Saxony and a member of the supervisory board, Prime Minister Stefan Weil, spoke of another step on the “path of transformation to an entirely new world of auto-mobility” after the control committee meeting on Thursday in Wolfsburg. Lower Saxony is becoming more and more a leader in matters of electromobility, and the investment of billions in Lower Saxony shows that “Volkswagen, a global company, is committed to its Lower Saxony roots,” said the SPD politician, in a statement to the state. According to the Chancellor. Accordingly, of the planned total investment of EUR 159 billion by 2026, EUR 89 billion alone should flow into future technologies such as electromobility and digitization. In 2026, a quarter of the group’s sold cars will be purely electric cars, it said on Thursday. Lower Saxony venues are to be made suitable for competition with a total of 21 billion euros.
It is planned:
- wolfsburg Trinity with its factory invests in the preparation of the electric car project, approved by supervisors, as well as in the Tiguan and Golf family. According to the works council, 1.6 billion euros is well planned for the main plant alone.
- In Hanover Specifically, the fully electric Bully successor id from 2022. The production of the Buzz and Electric flagship Audi “Landjet” is being prepared. The body of a new Bentley model has been made in Hanover. Also, autonomous driving has to be controlled from here.
- on location emden Electric compact SUV ID.4 to be manufactured. Investments are also being made in the future production of the electric Passat “Aero”. One billion euros should go to East Frisia.
- In salzgitter In addition to the drive train for the “Modular Electrification Kit (MEB)”, Volkswagen is investing in the development of engine concepts that aim to meet EU 6+ and EU 7 emission standards. In addition, cell production is being expanded in Salzgitter.
- i am Brunswick Plant Most of the investment goes into the production of battery systems for MEBs as well as components for the “Modular Transverse Toolkit (MQB)”.
- on location osnabrucky Investments are flowing into expanding production of the T-Rock Cabriolet.
This stalled the business of China
In addition to the investment plan, the Group Management Board required a decision by the Supervisory Board on the future personnel table. It is now clear that Herbert Dias will remain CEO – albeit with limited power in day-to-day business. Among other things, Dias will have to give up his China business.
Audi manager takes over group sales
Ralf Brandstetter will be the new head of this division, which is very important for the group, and will also be promoted to the board of directors as chairman of the board, Hans Dieter Pötsch said at an online press conference in Wolfsburg. Thursday. Brandstadter as head of the main brand VW will be succeeded by Thomas Schaefer, who had previously been responsible for the group brand koda. Audi’s manager Hildegard Wortmann is the new member of the group’s board of directors. She handles the sales area, which Dias also has to leave. In return, Diess is to take over the responsibility of subsidiary Cariad, which develops software for several VW models. The 63-year-old is responsible for futuristic topics such as electromobility and strategy for software, but has little control over day-to-day operations.
VW creates new IT department on board
In addition, the previous chief legal officer, Manfred Doss, is to move to the group’s management board. He is inherited by outgoing legal director Hiltrude Werner. In addition, Hauke Stars, the former manager of Deutsche Börse, is to take over the newly created IT department.
conflict with the working council
The personnel decision was preceded by a weeks-long power struggle with parts of the supervisory board, notably the President of the Executive Council, Daniela Cavallo. So it came into conflict with the work council when Dias thought about potentially necessary cancellation of thousands of jobs. Previously, according to information from corporate circles, the VW boss had asked other managers for further savings proposals – bypassing the very impressive workforce representation at VW.
Cavallo: Shift models will change
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According to Cavallo, VW will continue to have manufacturing problems in 2022 due to a global shortage of semiconductors. “The coming months will be tough, we have a real dry spell ahead of us,” Cavallo said in Wolfsburg on Thursday. Chip shortages crippled vehicle production around the world this year, and the consequences were particularly dire at Volkswagen. For example, the use of the main plant in Wolfsburg has been reduced. Cavallo expects fewer than 400,000 cars to be produced there—according to him, fewer cars than there were since the late 1950s, according to the Works Council sheet “Mitbestimmen!” stated in. Called. Also, the shift model is likely to change in the coming years. Now employee representatives are negotiating about this. Cavallo said the workforce should not have to endure the effects of unilateral chip shortages.
Environmentalists protest at the main plant
With the scale, Greenpeace activists want to point out carbon dioxide emissions from SUVs.
On the sidelines of a supervisory board meeting, Greenpeace activists demonstrated for more climate protection at the main plant in Wolfsburg. There they installed a beam scale two meters high and six meters long – with a combustion SUV from VW on the lower weight pan. A Greenpeace spokesman said a report published at the same time by the environmental protection organization shows that VW’s SUV strategy is adding a million tons to the group’s already heavy carbon dioxide emissions.
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