DPA
Production of diesel engines at the Volkswagen engine plant in Salzgitter
He can rebuild and remodel: his departure at the automotive supplier ZF in December 2017 Stefan Sommer put away without major career injuries. Since September, the 56-year-old manager acts as top buyer of the Volkswagen Group, he heads the procurement and component department. Sommer is now strengthening its field with an important task: The VW Group Division, which is part of Sommers Executive Board, bundles the development and production of batteries right through to recycling.
With this, Sommer intends to gradually increase the group’s own subcontracting works electric carSpecialists umpolen – and thus for the e-car offensive of VolkswagenGroup prepare the ground. However, he has to delete more posts in his area.
DPA
Stefan Sommer, VW Group Board Member for Procurement and Component
Sommers Ressort has roughly the same dimension as when it took office as ZF CEO in 2012: around 80,000 employees work in the 61 internal supplier plants of the Volkswagen Group worldwide. Already two and a half years ago The group decided to spin-off the component division. Since the beginning of 2019, the division has been operating as Volkswagen Group Components. With a business volume of around 35 billion euros, the component division, according to VW figures, is one of the top 5 suppliers. Last year, the division produced over ten million conventional engines and more than eight million transmissions.
“There is no stone left over here”
Sommer expects a similar task in the VW components division like once at ZF: VW’s internal subcontracting business with the construction of engines, axles and seats is profitable and should continue to deliver profits in the coming years. However, completely different products are necessary for future mobility: Especially in engine and transmission construction, most jobs will be lost if electric cars prevail on a broad front.
The component division is already struggling with significant changes. Currently, the departure of customers from the diesel already beats. For example, engine blocks for diesels were built in three shifts at Salzgitter Motorenwerk for seven days a week, but now the lines only run five days a week. Currently, several areas are being converted to the production of petrol engines, which are in greater demand after the diesel crisis caused by Volkswagen itself. “Here is no stone on the other,” describes component division manager Thomas Schmall the conversion.
As a CEO, Sommer fundamentally transformed transmission specialist ZF by buying up the US supplier TRW – thereby bringing a lot of expertise in safety and sensor technology to assistance systems. In VW’s component division, summer can not prevail. Although the carmaker has decided to outsource its subcontracting division, it does not plan for an IPO for the division.
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