The number of Group brands at Volkswagen has formally dropped from twelve to eleven after the majority was surrendered to Bugatti. CEO Diess wants to stick to the new setup for the time being.
Volkswagen Group boss Herbert Diess does not want to shake the number and allocation of the most important brands in Europe’s largest car group for the time being.
However, the various offshoots would have to be even more careful to jointly exploit economies of scale and overlaps, for example in development, he said in an interview with the news agencies dpa and dpa-AFX.
“I was very pleased that Porsche was taking on responsibility for Bugatti,” said Diess about the transfer of the majority of the French luxury sports car manufacturer to the Croatian company Rimac. The group can continue to get involved through its Stuttgart subsidiary, which in turn has a stake in Rimac. “There are a lot more synergies there than with VW, where the brand was previously located,” says Diess. “And Bugatti should also think about electrification in the next generation.”
From a formal point of view, the number of corporate brands has dropped from twelve to eleven. Diess had already emphasized that pure size is not a measure. It is also important to allow autonomy: “We have grouped the remaining premium brands at Audi, so we will no longer interfere from here in Wolfsburg.” With the allocation of the British luxury manufacturer Bentley, Audi also has the opportunity “to be active in a price segment that Audi can hardly match today”.
Diess countered speculations about a repeal of the two Italian offshoots Lamborghini and Ducati. “Lamborghini is doing very well, with double-digit returns and an electrification program. The brand needn’t shy away from comparison with Ferrari. We have younger customers, are stronger in Asia, and have a broader range of models. ” He said to the Audi boss and Ducati: “As an enthusiastic motorcyclist, Markus Duesmann will also take care of Ducati.”
In principle, it remains important to exploit cost advantages. “With the Volume brand group with VW, Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, we are also essentially looking for synergies in the technology platforms.” The concept is gradually being expanded to include software. The new Cariad division has an important role to play here.
There have also been acquisitions of specialized IT companies. At the same time, Diess emphasized: “There are still a few issues that we want to master ourselves, because our business model changes fundamentally if you don’t finish a car with the start of series production and then produce it, but instead continuously develop it.”
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
