Matthias Müller, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, has announced the five key steps to restore the Group to ensure that Volkswagen remains as one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers in the future.
“We have to look beyond the current situation and create the conditions for Volkswagen’s successful further development”, he said on Wednesday. “Volkswagen will emerge from the current situation stronger than before”. He announced that the cornerstones of the Group’s Strategy 2025 will be presented next year.
The top priority for the new Volkswagen CEO is supporting customers that are affected by the diesel issue. “Our customers are at the core of everything that our 600,000 employees worldwide do”, he said. According to Müller, Volkswagen is working closely to develop effective technical solutions.
The second step for Müller is to systematically drive forward and complete the investigation into what happened. “We must uncover the truth and learn from it”, he said. Volkswagen has engaged audit firm Deloitte for the analysis. Those responsible for what has happened will face severe consequences, according to Müller.
Müller’s third priority is to introduce new structures in the Volkswagen Group. “The key point is that Group management will be decentralized to a greater extent in the future”, he said. Müller stated that the Board of Management will focus on addressing cross-brand strategies, leveraging synergies and ensuring that Group resources are used effectively.
Fourthly, Müller is working on the realignment of the Group’s culture and management behavior. He believes that changes are necessary in how Volkswagen communicates and how it handles its mistakes. “We need a culture of openness and cooperation.” Müller also called on everybody at Volkswagen to display more courage, greater creativity and a more entrepreneurial spirit in their dealings with one another.
Lastly, the fifth priority is to transform the Group’s Strategy 2018 into a Strategy 2025. “Many people outside of Volkswagen, but also some of us, did not understand that our Strategy 2018 is about much more than production numbers. A lot of things were subordinated to the desire to be “Faster, Higher, Larger”, especially return on sales,” he said.
Müller added that the cornerstones of the Group’s Strategy 2025 will be developed over the next few months, and that it would be unveiled in the middle of next year.
On the local front, Mr Armin Keller, Managing Director of Volkswagen Group Malaysia said “We at Volkswagen Malaysia are completely aligned to Mr Muller’s visions and efforts. We will be reviewing on how to localize, adapt and implement core elements of the Global 2025 Strategy to Malaysia. That being said, our first priority remains regaining owner’s and Malaysians trust in the brand.”
