Only HR manager should stay
Volkswagen reorganizes the board of directors at its subsidiary CARIAD
5/8/2023, 5:09 p.m
In the VW Group, the development of a software business is a central topic for the future, but the responsible subsidiary is lagging behind in development. The German car giant is therefore turning almost the entire management level upside down. A new CEO has already been chosen.
Volkswagen is restructuring the troubled software subsidiary Cariad. On June 1st, Cariad will have a new boss in Peter Bosch. As the DAX group announced, Cariad is also to be linked more closely with the brands of the Volkswagen group and more firmly established as an “internal supplier for future technologies”. The new CEO Bosch was previously head of production at the subsidiary Bentley. The manager will take over the post from Dirk Hilgenberg and will also head the finance department. He should also be responsible for purchasing and IT. In the future, the new CEO will be supported by two proven software experts on the board. Cariad intends to determine the relevant personal details in a timely manner. Rainer Zugeh is to complete the Management Board in his previous role as Chief People Officer (CPO).
“Peter Bosch is the right CEO at the right time,” says Oliver Blume, Volkswagen CEO and Chairman of the Cariad Supervisory Board. “He is a strategist, implementer and team player. He successfully demonstrated that at Bentley. He knows the Volkswagen Group well and also has extensive change and consulting experience.” In conversation with the Hilgenberg team about possible new tasks in the group The Cariad supervisory board would like to thank “the team led by Dirk Hilgenberg for their passionate commitment and the progress they have made” and is already “in talks with them about possible new tasks within the Volkswagen group”. , so flower.
In addition, Cariad now wants to rely on an “experienced transformation board” that will shape the realignment with the help of selected Cariad managers. Here the group is “deliberately relying on a team of experienced Volkswagen Group managers from all brands, Cariad experts and new external executives,” says Michael Steiner, Cariad Supervisory Board member and responsible for the development of the Volkswagen Group. In the future, Cariad is to develop vehicles even more from software to hardware. Among other things, an integrated project house with the brands Volkswagen and Audi for the development of software-defined vehicles of the next generation is planned.
VW struggles with delays in software development
Informants had already reported on the upcoming restructuring of the Cariad board. VW has been struggling with delays in software development for some time, which is why the market launch of new models from various brands had to be postponed. An analysis of Cariad conducted by VW concluded that the current management lacked strong technical experience and leadership skills in a restructuring situation, a source said.
Cariad was founded by former VW CEO Herbert Diess with the goal of developing advanced software, including self-driving vehicles, for VW Group brands by mid-decade. The step of turning away from large software providers such as Google and Apple and instead relying on in-house development was considered bold and risky. VW spent billions, recruiting many software developers and coordinating the efforts of its various brands.
Despite the best efforts, Cariad got bogged down in the complexities of developing advanced software. Instead of paving the way for VW to overtake electric car leader Tesla, Cariad stopped the company’s brands from going faster. Diess brought Hilgenberg from BMW in 2020 to improve the group’s software organization. Although Hilgenberg made some progress, Cariad continued to struggle. The end result was that the planned launches of key all-electric models – Audi’s Q6 Etron and a battery-electric version of Porsche’s Macan – were postponed.