Volkswagen main plant in Wolfsburg. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Volkswagen will present details of its new corporate strategy on Tuesday. It is expected that the concept with the title “New Auto” will, among other things, set further accents in the key topics of digitization and services. Europe’s largest car group has already planned double-digit billion investments for the expansion of the range of e and hybrid models as well as its own battery cell production for the next few years. In addition, the industry is increasingly concerned with the networking of vehicles with its own software and the development of new service offers for everything to do with mobility.
The overall direction – it should shape Germany’s largest company by 2030 – bears the signature of CEO Herbert Diess. Its contract, which was initially valid until spring 2023, has just been replaced by a new one, which is now to run until October 2025.
VW invests in headquarters
Already it is known that VW, for example, wants to invest a lot of additional money in a new development center at its headquarters. For the “Campus Sandkamp” in Wolfsburg, around 800 million euros could be estimated, according to a letter to the workforce.
A further strengthening of research and development capacities is important with a view to several large projects. This includes the development of software competencies, the “Trinity” e-volume model planned for 2026 in Wolfsburg, the “Tesla Fighter” in Hanover for which Audi, Porsche and Bentley will be responsible from 2025, and the “Artemis” project, in which an overarching Electrical system for the Group’s cars is being developed.
For the works council, which recently had more frequent clashes with Diess, the first The cornerstones of this technology strategy also include more commitment in the management of personnel changes. The change to alternative drives and more and more networking brings with it completely new demands on employees – on the other hand, a number of jobs from the era of classic car construction are likely to disappear in the foreseeable future.
There is now a “clear timetable for the upcoming changes,” said works council chief Daniela Cavallo at the end of last week together with Diess and HR director Gunnar Kilian. A modernization fund is also planned, from which 125 million euros are to flow into the VW AG locations within five years. General goal: to increase your own attractiveness as an employer.
The core brand Volkswagen Passenger Cars had already presented a new corporate strategy in the spring. It is called “Accelerate” and includes a faster ramp-up of further e-models to reduce CO2, the introduction of subscription services and preparations for autonomous driving.
In the past first half of 2021, the entire group was able to further recover from the Corona slump in mid-2020. Based on preliminary figures, the operating result was already around eleven billion euros. dpa
