Wilfried Wilhelm Anclam (68) attaches great importance to the perfect appearance and he loves details. When the boss of the Autoland car dealership chain poses for a photo with his future deputy Christian Lindner (46), the red Autoland company lettering is emblazoned on his shirt collar – a heavy-handed advertisement like Jürgen Klopp’s best days. In the background, of course, an Autoland branch with the slogan “Pay zero percent, flexibly finance”: This motto has brought Anclam’s so-called “Auto-Aldi” strong growth for years – and ultimately cost its new partner Lindner his ministerial office.
But that is not so important at the birth of the new business coalition. Anclam wants to continue to grow despite the slow economy – and Lindner says he wants to finally “work where the heart of the German economy beats”.
The two could definitely form a powerful connection from January 2026, Lindner’s start date. The 68-year-old Anclam is a doer who often appears unconventionally, and his younger partner Lindner is an excellent speaker. Both love big words and packed halls. Lindner has “proven that he has mastered sales and campaigns,” says Anclam, justifying his decision in favor of the ex-FDP leader.
Sales, campaigns, growth: This is the DNA of Autoland, a company that Anclam likes to praise as “Germany’s largest manufacturer-independent automobile discounter”.
Growth base in Eastern Germany, target IPO
Wilfried Wilhelm Anclam, known in industry circles as “WWA”, leaves nothing to chance. 47 years ago, the then young police officer started his second career as an independent car dealer in a garage in Hanover by buying and selling a VW Beetle. Profitable, of course. To this day, he owns all of the shares in Autoland, which achieved sales of almost 900 million euros last year with 32 branches and around 1,500 employees.
This year, Autoland wants to break the one billion euro sales mark for the first time with around 60,000 vehicles sold. To mark its 50th anniversary, the plan is for the now renamed Autoland AG to go public at the end of 2028. For Anclam it would be the fulfillment of an ambitious master plan, and it is also a lucrative goal for newcomer Lindner.
Anclam laid the foundation for its automotive growth after the fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1990 he moved the Autoland headquarters to Sandersdorf-Brehna, 40 kilometers north of Leipzig. Through new buildings and takeovers, he has so far set up 30 car dealerships in East Germany, a red triumph with high numbers. Since 2023, two branches have been added in Hanover and Hamburg.
Phase II of the growth strategy is now starting: with Christian Lindner on board, West Germany is also to be conquered.
Anclam’s attention to detail and penchant for micromanagement are helping drive expansion. Every single Autoland branch is built according to a uniform process, praises Hannes Brachat, who, as editor of the industry magazine “Autohaus”, is one of the biggest fans of “WWA”. Every workplace is designed uniformly so that every salesperson can be used anywhere. A handbook explains every detail to new employees, from dress codes to how to organize license plates. “Pure order,” enthuses Brachat. Simple, sparkling clean rooms and the obligatory red company sweater are intended to create a “tidy, good sales atmosphere”. Apparently the boss knows every ornamental plant in front of the headquarters in Sandersdorf by name.
Anclam keeps a close eye on his surroundings. In Brehna, where Martin Luther’s wife Katharina von Bora once grew up in the monastery, he financed the restoration of the historic organ. And he knows when it’s time to pull out the next stops: multi-talented Lindner will “greatly increase the reputation of our company,” assures the Autoland boss, whose empire also includes Autodiscount24.
Bright red suit and departure in the Maybach
Chef Anclam exemplifies the corporate identity with every fiber. Until a few years ago, “WWA” liked to wear a bright red suit, with a bright white shirt, belt, shoes and pocket square. A color choice like in the 80s, but 100 percent consistent in appearance. Observers say he has a penchant for flashy appearances, but that hasn’t damaged his stable network in the industry. The Institute for the Automotive Industry (IfA) in Nürtingen-Geislingen, for example, regularly and actively supports “WWA”: After appearing as a guest speaker at the “Geislinger Automobilsommer”, he then threw a party for the students. As a farewell, he swung himself with the champagne glass through the open window of the Maybach as it drove away to toast the young automotive generation again.
“Quality of encounter” – this is what Anclam attaches great importance to. Whether he lectures to students about sales and marketing or sends his employees into sales discussions with customers – the personal connection has to be right. A car dealer has to get close to people: “WWA” is a master in the discipline of “pressing the flesh”, but he also knows that the targeted growth will not be possible without digital sales.
And here Christian Lindner comes into play again. Anclam has the passionate PorscheIn addition to the areas of marketing and sales, Driver will also be responsible for the area of digitalization: the digitalization of Germany, which Lindner so often missed as finance minister, can now be accelerated in operational practice. That Lindner already works part-time as an advisory board member for the demolition and recycling company Hagedorn in Gütersloh
, Anclam doesn’t worry at all. Accumulation of offices is not a problem for the busy salesman.
Anclam has no doubt that the former political star will succeed in making the leap from strategy to practical implementation: He calls Lindner a “doer” and “one of the most prominent advocates of individual mobility”. Nothing works at “WWA” without superlatives.
Lindner is impressed by the old master’s entrepreneurial spirit – and appears down-to-earth. “Car instead of hedge funds, Sandersdorf-Brehna instead of New York,” the ex-minister confirmed his new post on Instagram. Moving people, accelerating growth: For Lindner it is a second attempt. And for Anclam, part of a decades-old strategy.