Responsible for internal turmoil? Audi CEO is about to step down The successor previously served at Porsche

Audi CEO to step down due to internal turmoil, successor from Porsche

【PhoneAuto News】On June 30th, Beijing time, the Supervisory Board of Audi, a brand under the Volkswagen Group, passed a resolution appointing Gernot Doellner, the strategic manager of the Volkswagen Group, as the new CEO of Audi. The current CEO, Markus Duesmann, will leave the company. This appointment will take effect from September.

“I am honored and excited to take on this new role. Audi is an excellent company with a long history. I look forward to shaping the future of the company together with the entire Audi team,” said Doellner.

Gernot Doellner, the new CEO of Audi

• Ferrari SF90 XX Stradale/Spider global debut, 0-100 km/h acceleration in 23 seconds
• (Li Ruifeng) Great Wall’s new energy customers in Southeast Asia exceeded 20,000, covering six major markets
• Xiaopeng G6 officially launched! Starting price of 209,900 yuan, with a maximum range of 755 kilometers

Since joining the Volkswagen Group in 1993, Doellner has been working to enhance the influence of the Volkswagen Group. His first job was as a systems analyst at Volkswagen. In 1998, he joined Porsche and worked in the Porsche car development department from 2001 to 2010. At the same time, he was also the project manager for the Porsche 918 Spyder in 2009 and 2010. From 2011 to 2018, Doellner was responsible for the Porsche Panamera series. In 2021, he became the head of product strategy at the Volkswagen Group, reporting directly to the then CEO of the Volkswagen Group, Herbert Diess.

It is speculated that this personnel change at Audi may be related to the many internal issues that have recently emerged. Oliver Blume, CEO of the Volkswagen Group, recently made severe criticisms of Audi during the Capital Market Day speech. Blume said, “We are facing serious software problems, which make it difficult for us to launch multiple competitive electric vehicles on time.” He also mentioned that Audi does not have sufficient competitiveness in China. In the first quarter of 2023, Audi’s sales in the Chinese market decreased by 16% compared to the same period in 2022.

Software issues at Volkswagen have led to the delayed delivery of multiple high-quality electric vehicles. For example, the automaker originally intended to launch Audi’s products in 2024 but had to postpone it to 2027. The introduction of Bentley’s electric models, initially planned for 2025, may be delayed until 2030. Previously, Volkswagen dismissed most of the executives in the software department, Cariad, and appointed Peter Bosch, an executive responsible for Bentley’s production, as the head of Cariad. This personnel change at Audi is the second major reshuffle since the appointment of the Volkswagen CEO.

We will continue to update Phone&Auto; if you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us!