Volkswagen and Porsche to get new brand bosses, reports suggest

The Volkswagen Group will shuffle its brand management by appointing new heads of Volkswagen, Porsche and Skoda, German media is reporting.

Citing sources close to the company, Auto Motor und Sport claims current Porsche CEO Oliver Blume will become the Volkswagen brand boss, with Skoda boss Bernhard Maier filling Blume’s vacancy at Porsche.

Herbert Diess will retain control of overall Volkswagen Group operations but hand the day-to-day management of the Volkswagen brand to Blume, who has been the CEO of Porsche since 2015.

The publication claims that Blume is being brought in to deal with significant problems facing two of Volkswagen’s most important new models: the Mk8 Golf and the ID 3 electric hatchback.

Both cars have reportedly been plagued by software issues plagued by software issues, which has delayed production and lead to belated market introductions.

Blume already serves on the Volkswagen Group board of management as head of production. Maier, who is rumoured to be in line to replace him, served as head of marketing at Porsche before moving to head up Skoda in 2015.

The changes follow on from a reshuffle last week in which Volkswagen’s chief technology officer, Matthias Rabe, moved to Bentley to become its engineering boss. He replaced Werner Tietz, who moved to Seat to head research and development.

Meanwhile, a recent social media posting about the new Golf that brought accusations of racism appears to have cost Volkswagen marketing boss Jochen Sengpiehl his job. Nothing is official just yet, but Volkswagen sources have told Automotive Daily’s partner Autocar that Sengpiehl is set to leave the German car maker.

Lawrence Allan and Greg Kable