Ralf Brandstätter becomes the new manager of the Volkswagen Group in China. The appointment was confirmed in Wolfsburg, Germany, on the evening of Tuesday, December 7th. Brandstätter, who will replace Herbert Diess from 1 January 2022, headed the passenger cars division at headquarters in Germany.
With this managerial change, VW aims to strengthen its presence in the Chinese market. VW Group was unable to produce at the usual level in the People's Republic of China due to supply difficulties for semiconductors. The company, which has a 20 percent share in the Chinese market for years, aims to increase its market share.
The company is also having some problems with the new electric cars it sells in China. Sales of new models of this type also fell short of expectations; As a matter of fact, the now-leaving manager Diess said in a statement last week that the new electric vehicles will be below the planned 80-100 thousand sales this year, and will probably be between 70 and 80.
In the electric vehicle space, VW also faces competition from China-based Tesla. On the other hand, Chinese manufacturers Nio and Xpeng are also strengthening the competition as other players in the market. Meanwhile, the software of VW electric vehicles cannot adequately respond to the demands of Chinese drivers, which are higher than those of European customers, when compared to the digital hardware of Chinese vehicles. To overcome all this, VW, as it turns out, brings a difference to the management as a new move.
Source: China International Radio
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