Brandstätter leads realignment of VW China

On 1 August, the Volkswagen Group will fundamentally realign its management structure in China. The aim is to give VW China greater autonomy, and to strengthen its leadership in the local automotive market. In other words, to be ‘customer-focused, independent, fast’. 

Central to the change: a regional China Board, which will take all major decisions for the region on a cross-brand basis, in collaboration with VW’s joint-venture companies. 

The Board will be chaired by Ralf Brandstätter (pictured), who will lead VW Group China from 1 August. His current role is CEO of Passenger Cars within the overall VW Group. In the China Board, he will be joined by the regional CEOs from Audi, CARIAD and VW Passenger Cars, among others. 

• Additionally, VW Group will pool its technical resources and capabilities to accelerate innovation and digitalization, all under the header ‘In China, For China’. 
• To achieve this, the company appointed Marcus Hafkemeyer as Chief Tech Officer for VW Group China, effective 1 August. This is a newly-created role, and it will also be represented on the China Board. Mr Hafkemeyer currently still is Executive Strategy Advisor at Huawei Automotive in Shanghai. In his new role, he will report to Mr Brandstätter.
• Another key appointment: Stefan Mecha, currently CEO of VW Group Russia, will be the new CEO of VW Passenger Cars and Head of Group Sales in China, also from 1 August. Mr Mecha will also report to Mr Brandstätter.

Image: VW Group China