BEIJING, November 18 (TMTPOST) — International automobile giant Volkswagen Group plans to replace its China division CEO Stephan Wöllenstein on February 1, 2022, Automotive News Europe reported, citing internal sources familiar with the matter. Volkswagen will announce Wöllenstein’s successor soon, according to sources.
The organizational change might be triggered by the company’s dissatisfying market performance in China.
Source: Visual China
In 2019, the Chinese market contributed 40% of Volkswagen’s global sales with 4.23 million units sold in the region, representing year-on-year growth of 0.6%. The automaker’s market share in China rose to 20% in that same year, marking a milestone for Volkswagen in the country.
However, Volkswagen’s market performance in China began to decline since then. In 2020, Volkswagen and its Chinese joint venture delivered 3.85 million units in mainland China and Hong Kong, showing a 9.1% slump from 2019. The company sold 2.55 million units in China during the first three quarters of 2021, which shows a year-on-year decline of 4.1%. SAIC Volkswagen sold only around 970,000 units between January and October this year, a sharp 18% dive from the same period last year.
Volkswagen has started importing its electric vehicle ID series to the Chinese market but has not built up its competitiveness in the local market yet, falling far behind its Chinese counterparts like BYD.
Earlier in July, Volkswagen Group’s CEO Herbert Diess publicly criticized the China division’s sales performance, stating that the company must change its way of selling electric vehicles in China to improve its sales in the country. This already hinted at Volkswagen’s plan to adjust the leadership in the Chinese market, many industry insiders believe.
Stephan Wöllenstein has served as CEO of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars Brand for China and Executive Vice President at Volkswagen (China) since 2019. Wöllenstein joined Volkswagen in 1995 and has gained rich experience across branding, sales, marketing, and product management at a strategic level.
Volkswagen has not provided any statement on the report so far.
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