Volkswagen AG appointed new leaders for its Chinese operations, Czech brand Skoda and electric- vehicle unit as Europe's largest carmaker works to overtake Toyota Motor Corp. as the world's biggest auto manufacturer.
Karl-Thomas Neumann, head of the company's electric-car division, will become president of VW Group China as of Sept. 1 to succeed Winfried Vahland, who will run Skoda, Wolfsburg, Germany-based Volkswagen said today in a statement. Rudolf Krebs, 53, the head of VW's engine factory in Salzgitter, Germany, will replace Neumann at the electric-car division.
"China will be one of the most lucrative markets for electric cars and new technologies, and VW is taking steps to stay in the lead there," Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, said in a phone interview.
Volkswagen plans to start producing battery-powered cars in China, the company's biggest national market, as soon as 2013. The manufacturer will face competition from Daimler AG, which set up an electric-vehicle joint venture yesterday with Shenzhen, China-based BYD Co., and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, which is planning a so-called New Energy Vehicle for the country with local partner Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd.
VW has raised its investment budget for China by 50 percent to 6 billion euros ($7.4 billion) and has a goal of selling 2 million vehicles in the nation by 2018. Volkswagen's four- month sales in China surged 53 percent to 620,500 cars and sport-utility vehicles.
Neumann's Strategy
Neumann, 49, is a former chief executive officer of Continental AG who rejoined VW in November after five years at the Hanover, Germany-based auto-component maker. His duties at Volkswagen from 1999 to 2004 included overseeing electronics research and strategy.
VW presented the E-Lavida battery-powered car at the Beijing auto show in April. An electric version of Volkswagen's best-selling Golf, as well as the E-Lavida, will be tested in China as preparation for a broader market introduction. The E-Up! city car is also due to go on sale in China in 2013.
"Neumann will break new ground in China, both in terms of business development and as an expert in future technologies," Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn said in today's statement.
Vahland, 53, was chief financial officer of Skoda before taking the Chinese position in 2005. He will replace Skoda CEO Reinhard Jung, 59, who is retiring, VW said. Operating profit at the Mlada Boleslav-based unit plunged 64 percent last year to 203 million euros as deliveries declined 12 percent to 552,000 vehicles.
