Markus Duesmann
The former BMW manager will be the new boss of Audi.
The carmaker Audi remains far behind his own expectations, This is true for sales as well as for profitability and position as the number three premium manufacturer behind BMW and Daimler, It can the VolkswagenDaughter more, much more. As part of the world’s largest automaker would have Audi landing miles ahead of the competition in terms of costs, technology and sales.
The reasons why Audi lags behind the possibilities are manifold. Surely the many have Board change within a few years and the involvement of Audi in the diesel scandal contributed to the crisis. But the causes can not only be found in Ingolstadt. Blame for the misery also bears the parent company.
The board of Volkswagen the subsidiary in Bavaria has left itself alone for many years; Audi was able to muddle away. The effect is fatal: without effective control by VW, Audi engineers could falsify the emissions of diesel cars and then delay the investigation of fraud.
Also in the development of new models and the integration into the entire company left the headquarters in Wolfsburg the daughter too much space. The consequences are that sales have broken off in some areas and the development costs are unnecessarily high.
The problem Audi has become a problem for the VW group. It needs the money of what was once the largest producer of profits in order to stem the investment in switching from oil to electricity as a means of propulsion.
Motivation and efficiency
After the VW leadership to CEO Herbert dies The crisis at Audi had left untreated for a long time, she now intervenes: By April BMWCEO Markus Duesmann become new boss of Audi, He should Bram Schot replaced one year ago. To accuse Schot that he failed, would be unfair, since he was planned from the outset only as a temporary solution.
Duesmann is considered a capable manager, who has a closer relationship than Schot to VW boss Herbert Diess. His vocation should certainly be good for solving the problems. However, a team awaits him in Ingolstadt, which has been unsettled by board rotations and self-inflicted by the diesel scandal has lost their self-confidence.
The BMW man must build the workforce in the first step, motivate them positively. Right in the next step, however, he has to trim Audi to efficiency, because the costs have gone out of control.
Interim chief Schot had only launched a general program to reduce costs. However, Audi must be structurally different in order to compete with BMW and Daimler to be able to exist. If that fails, then Audi could one day behind Volvo or one Tesla fall behind.
For Duesmann to master the task, it takes a change of heart in Wolfsburg. The future boss may be a great leader, but Audi did not do well for the long leash. The company needs to be more closely involved in the big picture. This also means that the VW Board can intervene more quickly in the case of undesirable developments.