The car manufacturer Volkswagen replaces its North American boss. Kjell Gruner was appointed President and CEO of the Volkswagen Group of America on December 12, 2024, as the Wolfsburg-based DAX group announced on Tuesday. Gruner, who most recently worked in a managerial position at the US electric car manufacturer Rivian and before that for many years at the VW subsidiary Porsche follows Pablo Di Si (55), who left Volkswagen at his own request.
The manager magazine had already reported recently
that Di Si would probably leave the company in view of Volkswagen’s failure in the future USA. In particular, the electric cars are not running; expectations will be missed by hundreds of millions of euros in 2024 and 2025. There have been repeated recalls of the ID.4 due to technical defects.
In recent years, Volkswagen has been able to gradually increase its market share in the USA. But there is still a lot to do to achieve the target of 10 percent market share. “I know that we have aggressive goals,” North America boss di Si told the Reuters news agency in the summer. A new brand with a specially built factory and billions invested in the software should help the Wolfsburg-based company achieve a significant increase in sales.
“Kjell Gruner is an absolute expert for the US market,” said Group Human Resources Director Gunnar Kilian (49). “He has 25 years of experience in the automotive industry and extensive know-how to take advantage of the growth opportunities in North America and drive them forward effectively.”