BERLIN — Volkswagen Group is changing The prime of its key China operations, agency sources informed Automotive Information Europe sister publication Automobilwoche.
VW Group China CEO Stephan Woellenstein will depart the submit on Feb. 1, the sources said. Woellenstein has held the place For 3 yrs.
China is by far VW Group’s most important market, accounting for 40 % of its car gross sales, However the group is working properly behind its deliberate progress.
Sales of VW’s ID full-electrical fashions fashions are weaker than anticipated in China, the world’s largest EV market.
VW aimed to promote between 80,000 and 100,000 of ID automobiles in China this yr however purchased 47,200 by way of September in contrast with 208,800 in Europe, Based mostly on An group assertion launched on Oct 15.
The automaker blames the sluggish enterprise on The worldwide chip scarcity That is presently hampering manufacturing.
VW Group CEO Herbert Diess informed a staff meeting in October the Volkswagen mannequin had misplaced 27 % of deliberate manufacturing So far this yr. “In China, our joint ventures have misplaced virtually 30 %, and Skoda is down 32 %,” Diess informed managers.
Diess has demanded new approaches to promoteing in China the place he say EV buyers are a lot youthful than the autmaker’s conventional buyer base.
VW had one other setbacks in China when gross sales of its Passat fell after the sedan did badly in an unofficial safety look at carried out by an insurance coverage enterprise physique.
VW declined to Contact upon Woellenstein. The automaker Is predicted to announce his successor quickly, sources said.
Source: https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/vw-replace-china-boss-amid-slow-ev-rollout