Speaking at a press conference in Wolfsburg, Bernd Osterloh, head of Volkswagen's works council and the VW autoworkers union's representative on the automaker's supervisory board, criticized the performance of the company's operations in North America but said that the company's two top executives, Volkswagen Group Chairman Ferdinand Piech and CEO Martin Winterkorn, will keep their positions until at least 2016.
The union representative said that the main Volkswagen brand has had a "catastrophic" performance in the U.S. market, where it was one of the few car brands to sell fewer vehicles in 2013 than in 2012. "The U.S. are a case of disaster" for VW, said Osterloh. Increasing sales in the U.S. is a critical component of Piech and Winterkorn's stated goal of becoming the world's largest automaker, surpassing General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. in global sales by 2018.
Osterloh criticized VW aging model lineup in North America, saying product life cycles in the U.S. "have been miscalculated," and that the German carmaker also underestimated price competition. He said, "We won't have a better situation in the U.S. before 2016 or 2017," when VW introduces an all new midsize SUV to that market, likely to be assembled in either Chattanooga, Tennessee or Puebla, Mexico. VW had announced at the Detroit auto show that it would be investing $7 billion in its North American operations. Osterloh criticized the time it was taking to decide on where to build the SUV, based on the CrossBlue concept that was introduced a year ago. He also said that VW needs a pickup truck for the U.S. market.
When asked about a potential vote at the Tennessee plant by the United Auto Workers union on a proposal to set up a German style works council, Osterloh said that was unrelated to the decision on locating the SUV's production.
Regarding changes in VW's top management, "I'd be one of the first people to know if the situation changes," said Osterloh. Piech "had no plan to resign" last year, contrary to published reports at the time, Osterloh insisted. Winterkorn's current 5 year contract expires in 2016 and Osterloh said that there is no lack of internal candidates capable of succeeding Winger
Winterkorn, 66, has a five-year contract with VW that expires in 2016. Piech, 76, is in his third term as board chairman after retiring as CEO in 2002. Piech's wife, Ursula, was given a seat on the board in 2012. Osterloh said there are plenty of qualified internal candidates to succeed Winterkorn when that time comes.
from The Truth About Cars http://ift.tt/Jh8LjA
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