AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Volkswagen of America, Inc., CEO Stefan Jacoby today announced new executive appointments and realignment of the Volkswagen brand executive management team, taking effect January 1, 2008.
Jacoby will add the title of executive vice president of the Volkswagen brand, in combination with his duties as CEO, Volkswagen of America, Inc.
The executive vice president role at Volkswagen has been held by Adrian Hallmark since November of 2005. Hallmark will transfer to corporate parent Volkswagen AG in Wolfsburg, Germany where he will lead Volkswagen sales and marketing initiatives for the Asia/ Pacific region.
Also announced was the appointment of Michael Lohscheller as executive vice president, chief financial officer for Volkswagen of America, Inc., reporting to Jacoby. Lohscheller transfers from corporate parent Volkswagen AG, where he was most recently director, Group Marketing and Sales Planning. He has been with Volkswagen AG since 2004, after holding various senior finance positions with Daimler and Mitsubishi Motors.
In addition, Falk Beil has been named executive vice president, Service & Quality, Volkswagen of America, Inc. Reporting directly to Jacoby, he has held multiple inter-disciplinary posts since joining Volkswagen AG in 1988.
Jacoby also appointed the following vice presidents, both reporting directly to him, within the Volkswagen brand, taking effect immediately.
Mark Barnes has been named vice president, Customer Service. Mark has held numerous management positions at Chrysler, Hyundai and Nissan, bringing 25 years of Parts and Service experience in both national and regional operations.
M. Toscan Bennett has been named vice president, Product Marketing & Strategy. He replaces David Goggins, formerly director, Product and Marketing Strategy. Bennett brings more than twenty years of automotive brand management experience at Ferrari, Chrysler and Mitsubishi. Goggins will return to Bentley Motors headquarters in Crewe, United Kingdom where he will lead Bentley global communications.
?With these organizational changes, we have strengthened the enterprise to best meet the challenges of the dynamic American automotive marketplace,? said Jacoby. ?The Volkswagen Brand will continue on the path set by Adrian. We appreciate his efforts to build a solid platform for continued growth and profitability.?
Volkswagen of America, Inc.
Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world?s largest producers of passenger cars and Europe?s largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Rabbit, New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, GTI, Jetta, GLI, Passat, Passat wagon, Eos, and Touareg through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. Visit Volkswagen of America online at vw.com.
VW needs to get back to its core business model - high-value, precision-built (but still affordable) German cars; as good as Audis, only less expensive ... they stumbled badly with the Phaeton - and haven't had a real hit since the New Beetle. The Passat, Jetta and Golf/Rabbit are excellent machines; they just need to increase the "value ratio" to make more headway against the Japanese and others...
Eric,
I agree with you. Unfortunately VW has gone more upscale and quite frankly some of their vehicles are almost as expensive as Audis. When given a choice most people will go with an Audi rather than a VW. VW needs to go back to the successful business model of the 1980s were they had a whole line of reasonable priced cars that offered good value, good performance, and were fun to drive. During this time Golfs and Jettas had very good sales. They offered German engineering, handling, efficient motors, and good value in some nice packages. For instance its hard to beat a mid 1980s Scirocco or a mid 1980s Golf GTI. Both cars when compared to a mid 1980s Porsche 944 - got better mpg, were half the price, accelerated about as fast, and handled as well. VW offered a lot of bang for the buck. Remember the 1980s vintage 16 valve VW 4 cylinder motors in the Scirocco and Golf GTI? They were pretty quick for their day.
I thought VWOA were abandoning Auburn Hills in favor of New Jersey?
Amen - well-said.Originally Posted by Pete
Eric,
I agree with you. Unfortunately VW has gone more upscale and quite frankly some of their vehicles are almost as expensive as Audis. When given a choice most people will go with an Audi rather than a VW. VW needs to go back to the successful business model of the 1980s were they had a whole line of reasonable priced cars that offered good value, good performance, and were fun to drive. During this time Golfs and Jettas had very good sales. They offered German engineering, handling, efficient motors, and good value in some nice packages. For instance its hard to beat a mid 1980s Scirocco or a mid 1980s Golf GTI. Both cars when compared to a mid 1980s Porsche 944 - got better mpg, were half the price, accelerated about as fast, and handled as well. VW offered a lot of bang for the buck. Remember the 1980s vintage 16 valve VW 4 cylinder motors in the Scirocco and Golf GTI? They were pretty quick for their day.
That era was a second golden era for VW (after the first, which centered on the success of the original Beetle), but they (like other automakers) fell victim to the "success scabies" - and decided that VW needed to be an "upscale" brand... which has resulted in a product line that doesn't fit the VW buyer demographic as tightly as it once did because it overlaps with brands like Audi...
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote