Volkswagen’s chief designer has to go, the VW ID.3 is to be optically revised.
Dusseldorf Volkswagen parted ways with its longtime designer Klaus Zyciora. As the Handelsblatt learned from company circles, Michael Mauer, previously chief designer at Porsche, is to succeed Zyciora on January 1st. The key position reports directly to Oliver Blume, Mauer will report directly to the VW CEO.
The 60-year-old Mauer was previously in charge of the design department at Volkswagen, from the end of 2015 to spring 2020. At that time, VW’s CEO was still called Matthias Müller. However, Mauer replaced his successor Herbert Diess with the VW veteran Zyciora. Blume is now undoing this step. As in the first round, Mauer will be in charge of corporate and Porsche design.
A lot depends on the design, and there is a need for change, particularly at the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand. Blume and his brand manager Thomas Schäfer have recently repeatedly promised customers better quality and a better appearance for the vehicles.
The electric ID models in particular were criticized by customers and the trade media for their bulky appearance and plastic interior. The pressure on Mauer is high. He will be largely responsible for the future look of the ID series.
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VW boss Blume: Design not “in one piece”
The fact that Zyciora, 61, is now leaving the company does not come as a surprise to group insiders. He is primarily responsible for the failed model design of the recent past. CEO Blume is said to have repeatedly criticized the fact that the Volkswagen brand does not have a uniform design language. The various models were not designed and developed “in one piece”.
The facelift of the important electric model ID.3 is scheduled for the coming year, with which the errors from the first edition of the vehicle are to be corrected. New editions for the Passat and Tiguan are also planned. The electric ID.7, which is strongly reminiscent of the classic Passat with a combustion engine, is also scheduled to come onto the market in 2023.
Oliver Blume, head of VW and Porsche (left), and his chief designer: Michael Mauer should ensure that the Volkswagen brand once again has a uniform design language.
(Photo: AFP)
Mauer will no longer be able to exert much influence on these models. Usually, the design of a car is about two years before it appears on the market (“design freeze”). However, VW brand boss Schäfer has already promised improvement for the models planned for next year.
The group and Porsche design boss should come into its own in VW’s crisis-ridden prestige project Trinity, which Blume’s predecessor Diess had initiated. The plan was to bring a Tesla competitor onto the market by 2026 – in sedan form, with a new operating system and Level 4 autonomy at prices suitable for the masses.
>> Read about this: Volkswagen postpones Trinity electric model – new plant before the end
In fact, the car should not be ready until 2028 at the earliest, partly because of the major software problems in the group. And at the request of brand boss Schäfer, it will probably be an SUV rather than a sedan. Also because the market demands such cars now and in the future, according to corporate circles. In all likelihood, CEO Blume will inform the supervisory board about the postponement of the Trinity project at its meeting on Thursday in Berlin.
The influence of Audi and Porsche is growing in the VW group
Volkswagen is reorganizing its cross-brand functions of quality and design with the forthcoming personnel swap. On January 1st, Audi Quality Manager Michael Neumayer will also take over the management of Group Quality Management from Frank Welsch, who is retiring after almost 30 years at VW. “With the group-wide management of the brands, we are increasing the focus on our customers,” Oliver Blume is quoted as saying in an internal statement.
>>Read about this: Volkswagen wants to increase electric sales with a better charging network
Mauer and Neumayer will retain their brand functions at Porsche and Audi in the longer term. The sports car manufacturer from Zuffenhausen will be responsible for development and design in the future. Sales and quality are the responsibility of Audi, while production and purchasing remain with Volkswagen. CEO Blume also retained his CEO post at Porsche after taking office in Wolfsburg.
Klaus Zyciora worked for Volkswagen for more than 30 years. Before the electric ID design series, he was responsible, among other things, for the Golf generations 6 to 8. Even though Zyciora has repeatedly come up with highlights such as the ID.Buzz e-transporter, other brands in the VW cosmos have recently found it easier to build attractive cars.
For example, Seat has won several design awards with its Cupra sub-brand, and Skoda has also won optically over Volkswagen. The Czech subsidiary in particular had recently been repeatedly praised for its uniform design language. “An ID.Buzz alone is not enough,” said VW brand boss Thomas recently on the future requirements for the design of the brand.
More: Oliver Blume takes action at VW – and realigns the group