The VW boss does not see his position at risk from the conflict with the works council.
(Photo: Bloomberg)
Dusseldorf Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess sees his personal position as secure despite the recent disputes with the works council about possible job cuts in Wolfsburg. “We have a very good plan for the transformation, I feel well supported”, he said on Wednesday at the Handelsblatt Auto Summit 2021. Despite the debate about his person on the Supervisory Board, he does not expect delays in the one planned for the beginning of December Adoption of the new investment plan.
Asked by Handelsblatt editor-in-chief Sebastian Matthes whether he would still be Volkswagen boss in the coming year, Diess replied without hesitation: “Yes, definitely.” He works well with the new works council boss Daniela Cavallo. Cavallo has been one of his toughest critics in recent weeks.
The planned renovation of the VW plant in Wolfsburg with the “Trinity” project will revolutionize car manufacturing at the Group’s headquarters, the VW boss added. This marks the beginning of a major process of change in Wolfsburg, with which structural change can be promoted there. “You have to be strong in your home market in order to be internationally competitive,” emphasized Diess.
The carmaker announced on Tuesday that a completely new factory is expected to be built for the future generation of electric vehicles (“Trinity”) in Wolfsburg as part of a so-called greenfield project. Production is scheduled to start in 2026. The supervisory board still has to approve the project in December as part of the investment planning.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
For Diess, the electric vehicle is the car of the future. “The drive question has been decided,” he said at the auto summit. The VW group has already managed to become the market leader in fully electric vehicles in Europe.
“The question of the drive has been decided,” says the VW boss.
With the electric drive it will be possible to make the economy CO2-neutral and at the same time offer affordable individual mobility. “There is no need to compromise on the standard of living,” emphasized the Volkswagen boss. Climate change is the “greatest challenge facing mankind” and the automotive industry must make its contribution.
Diess complained that the major European auto suppliers have not started manufacturing battery cells. Volkswagen, as the European industry leader, had no choice but to order a large part of the battery cells from the major suppliers in Asia.
Something similar is now being repeated with machine-builders. German and European manufacturers are not in a position to deliver the necessary devices. That is why the VW group has to order the machines in Asia for its own cell production.
Diess sees fundamental change in the auto industry
From the point of view of the VW boss, the entry into electromobility is only the first step towards a fundamental change in the automotive industry. The rapidly increasing software component in vehicles, which will make autonomous driving possible in a few years, will be even more important.
This year, the acute shortage of chips has shown that Volkswagen has to be much more involved in semiconductors. “We are striving for strategic partnerships with chip manufacturers in Asia,” said Diess. VW will then get into the design and development of vehicle-related chips itself.
A company like Volkswagen is more dependent on cross-industry cooperation in order to compete with new car manufacturers from the USA and China. There are also other new competitors from the IT industry such as Apple, Foxconn or the Alphabet subsidiary Waymo.
More: “Trinity” project: VW is planning a completely new plant for electric cars in Wolfsburg.