Car manufacturer: Audi conjures up the restart

Rarely have a look the Audi’s people to the coming year with so much excitement as this Time. The only issue is on the edge with the most acute issues of the automobile industry, the strict carbon-dioxide regulations in the EU, the trade war between the United States and China or the threat of No-Deal-Brexit. The turn of the year the once-proud subsidiary of the Volkswagen experienced group instead, with all sorts of home-made difficulties – and a new CEO.

Henning Peitsmeier

economic correspondent in Munich.

F. A. Z.

The mood at the recent meeting in mid-December, on the Bram Schot as the newly appointed boss at Audi, the good 8000 employees a voice, was described by participants as “a little irritated” because there are factories to be running in the Audi, as usual. After all, Schot hit the right tone, made a good speech, spread a little optimism. “We need to change the things in common now,” said the 57-year-old Dutchman and conjured the team spirit: “With this Team we can make it back to the top.” From the overall works Council Chairman, there was then praise. “In his interim period, he has already shown that he can give to our requested and initiated restart a lot of momentum,” said Peter Mosch on Schot, has commenced in the summer of the difficult heritage of the because of the diesel affair in the meantime, the imprisoned Chairman Rupert Stadler, the first Commissioner, to 1. January 2019 then all of a regular.

Schot, previously Board member for sales at Audi, is under the observation of the own workforce on the one hand, and the parent company, in Wolfsburg, on the other hand. There is the group chief Executive Herbert Diess had had with his former BMW team-mates Markus Duesmann actually a other Audi boss in the eye, but BMW refused to allow the willing to change purchasing the early release. And an interim solution with no forseeable end seemed to be not portable.