The longtime CEO of Volkswagen AG, Carl Hahn, died on Saturday at the age of 96. This was confirmed by a spokeswoman for the Hahn Foundation of the German Press Agency. Previously, the “World
“reported on the death of the former manager. Hahn fell asleep peacefully at home in Wolfsburg.
Born in Chemnitz on July 1, 1926, the manager laid the foundations for the global corporation during his time as VW boss. During his tenure from 1982, the takeovers of Seat and Skoda fell.
Under Hahn, VW expanded into China
In addition, Hahn began to expand the company China. “Fortunately for us, hardly anyone was interested in going there at the time,” Hahn told the VW employee newspaper “Inside” at the age of 92. There were plenty of critics of the decision, including politicians, but the development proved him right: China developed into the most important single market for the group.
Hahn began his career at Volkswagen in 1954 as Head of Export Promotion. From 1959 to 1964 he headed the American division of VW. Back in Wolfsburg in 1965 he became a member of the board and head of sales for the group. After differences about the independence of Audi there was a break with the then VW boss Rudolf Leiding: Hahn left the car company and took over the management of the former company in 1973 Continental-Gummi-Werke AG in Hanover.
Seat on the VW supervisory board until 1997
Just as surprisingly as he left Wolfsburg, he returned in 1982 as VW CEO. Under his leadership, VW became the largest car group in Europe and globalization began: After entering China in 1982, Seat was taken over in 1986, in 1989 VW started business in the former GDR and in Eastern Europe and in 1991 the company took over the Czech car manufacturer Skoda. In 1992 Hahn handed over his office to Ferdinand Piëch, who later became known as the “VW Patriarch”. Hahn was a member of the VW supervisory board until 1997.
Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) tweeted in the evening: “We owe Saxony as much to few people as Carl Hahn.” This “great personality” brought the automotive industry back to East Germany and thus wrote Saxon history. Lose with his death Germany a “business captain” and Chemnitz a “great honorary citizen”.