How Audi boss Markus Duesmann tackles the biggest problems and fights for his job

Munich, Ingolstadt, Berlin When Audi boss Markus Duesmann switched from BMW to Audi three years ago, he was seen as a beacon of hope. Not anymore: Internal critics complain that he has not moved enough at the automaker in the past three years.

In the Volkswagen Group, the Ingolstadt subsidiary is considered a problem alongside the VW house brand. “The billions in profits that have recently been achieved cannot simply be carried forward into the future,” said the parent company in Wolfsburg.

Admittedly, Audi has so far been the most important profit maker in the group alongside Porsche. But sales and profits threaten to collapse. The company has been falling behind technologically for more than five years.

VW boss Oliver Blume increases the pressure on Audi

Duesmann has to take countermeasures – and is therefore also fighting for his job. He explained his plan to the Handelsblatt, how he wants to tackle the fields of digitization, electromobility and the problems in the USA and China. Central areas such as product management, the business with data and the sustainability strategy are to be more closely linked to him.