The Volkswagen-Software subsidiary Cariad gets its new one USA-Head of the Chinese electric car manufacturer Nio. Lei Zhang will work for the Wolfsburg-based car manufacturer from May, according to an internal communication available to manager magazin. In the future, he should manage Cariad’s US business. He will also be responsible for the interior and infotainment issues together with Michel Bensel.
According to the announcement, Lei Zhang was most recently responsible for the digital cockpit and software development at Nio; previously he was, among other things, at Google responsible for the Android Automotive operating system. According to the statement, Lei Zhang has more than 16 years of practical experience in the tech industry and specializes in Android, machine learning, mobile applications and web services, among other things.
Zhang is already the third tech manager that Cariad boss Peter Bosch has brought to the VW subsidiary, after former Rivian manager Sanjay Lal and Frank Han, who came from ChanganTech and is now responsible for the China-Business is responsible.
Zhang succeeds Scott Runner as head of US operations. He only took over the position in May last year. The problems At Cariad, meanwhile, things don’t stop
. The start of software and models is repeatedly postponed; Cariad boss Peter Bosch wants to renovate the unit. The cost targets are radical.