When Martin Hofmann said goodbye to him in a letter in spring 2020 Volkswagen announced after 19 years, the IT boss of the group was diplomatic. it’s time “enter a new phase of life and do something different”. A few months later he joined the software giant Salesforce in a managerial position. Now, three years after leaving Volkswagen, Hofmann is returning to the vehicle scene: on May 1, he will be Chief Technology and Information Officer at truck manufacturer Volta.
Volta CEO Essa Al Saleh raises expectations of Hofmann even before he starts. The new addition should help to develop “a digital ecosystem around the vehicle”, “just like that Apple succeeded with the first iPhone”.
Founded in Sweden in 2019, the company’s first model is the Volta Zero, a 16-ton electric truck for last-mile deliveries. Volta promises a range of 150 to 200 kilometers. Steyr Automotive is responsible for building the trucks. The Austrian contract manufacturer can look back on a young history. MAN built trucks in Steyr until mid-2021, when WSA took over the plant. Behind WSA is Siegfried Wolf (65), a dazzling auto veteran. Wolf was once the head of the contract manufacturer magna, is now a member of the supervisory board at Porsche SE and Schaeffler and heads the supervisory body of drive specialist Vitesco.
So far there are only prototypes of the Volta Zero, but production is scheduled to start shortly. As one of the first major customers of the Swedes, the logistics group Schenker, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, has ordered 150 e-trucks and planned them in its fleet for this year. Together with Schenker, Volta also tested the “Zero” in Paris in September 2022.
For ex-Volkswagen veteran Martin Hofmann, one of the things that will be important from May is the further development of Volta’s digital offerings. The brand wants to sell more than just trucks. Volta also promises customers a “Truck-as-a-Service” offer: for a monthly fee, customers will receive not only the vehicle but also charging infrastructure and packages for maintenance, insurance and training. For this, Volta needs stable databases and systems; the scene says there is still a lot to do for the newcomer. Hofmann himself was “thrilled” to be able to advance the development of Volta’s digital platform.
IT is now a board member at Volkswagen
At Volkswagen, Hofmann had already taken over the group IT under the aegis of Martin Winterkorn (75) and set up a cloud there that should ultimately network plants, processes and vehicles with each other in the best possible way. His last boss at Volkswagen was then Herbert Diess (64); and the relationship between the two should not always have been easy.
Hofmann’s former job at Volkswagen is now held by Hauke Stars (55). At the end of 2021, with the addition of the “Organization” department, the new IT boss was granted what Hofmann had been denied in almost two decades of corporate career: a board position.