Volkswagen names another new executive, but still no diesel fix in sight

By Stephen Edelstein January 19, 2016

Volkswagen — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Volkswagen continues to shuffle executives as it looks for a way out of the ongoing diesel scandal. The company faces mounting pressure from regulators and outraged customers to find a solution, but still hasn’t announced a recall of its U.S. diesel cars.

What it did do is appoint Hinrich J. Woebcken head of the Volkswagen brand in North America. Woebcken will be responsible for all activities related to the Volkswagen brand (not the other car brands controlled by the VW Group) in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. VW says his appointment is an important part of an ongoing effort to streamline corporate infrastructure.

The move also makes Woebcken chairman of Volkswagen Group of America, Volkswagen Mexico, and Volkswagen Group of Canada. However, current VW Group of America CEO Michael Horn will retain his post.

The 55-year-old Woebcken comes to Volkswagen from Knorr-Bremse, a German company primarily known for supplying braking systems for commercial vehicles. An industrial engineer by training, his experience is primarily in purchasing and supply chains. Previous automotive experience includes a decade-long stint at BMW beginning in 2004.

The diesel scandal has made it a particularly bad time to be a Volkswagen Group executive. The shakeup began when VW Group CEO Martin Winterkorn stepped down, and was replaced by Porsche CEO Matthias Muller. R&D boss Ulrich Hackenberg and head of design Walter de Silva subsequently stepped down as well, and were replaced by Ulrich Eichhorn and Michael Mauer, respectively.

Meanwhile, it’s still unclear when Volkswagen will begin recalling the defective diesel cars, including 482,000 TDI models with 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engines, and an additional 85,000 with 3.0-liter V6 engines. The California Air Resources Board recently rejected a proposed fix for the 2.0-liter cars, and hasn’t weighed in on a proposal concocted by Porsche and Audi for the 3.0-liter models.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

Cars

Tesla’s fix for faulty Cybertruck pedal is simpler than you might think

Tesla Cybertruck

Less than five months after handing over the first Cybertrucks to customers, Tesla has had to recall the electric pickup to fix an issue with the accelerator.

In a notice issued on Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that the recall impacts Cybertruck vehicles manufactured from November 13, 2023, to April 4, 2024. This suggests that all -- or almost all -- of the 3,878 Cybertrucks being recalled are those that have been manufactured to date.

Cars

Ford Mustang Mach-E 2024 vs. Mach-E 2023: What’s new in Ford’s electric Mustang?

Blue Ford Mustang Mach-E on a rooftop

The Ford Mustang Mach-E is easily one of the best EVs for the price, offering a solid range, sleek design, and pretty good tech on the inside. In recent years, it has gotten even cheaper -- thanks in large part to a price war between it and the Tesla Model 3. And, the company just took the wraps off of the latest and greatest version of the Mach-E, labeled as the 2024 model.

The 2024 Mustang Mach-E is notably different from the 2023 iteration in some meaningful ways. So much so that we decided to take a look at the two head-to-head -- to see if it was better to pay for the 2024 model or save some cash on any remaining 2023 stock.
Design
The Mustang Mach-E looks relatively unique -- in a good way. And thankfully, Ford has largely kept the overall design the same for the 2024 model, at least when it comes to the more consumer-focused models. The car retains the slatted taillights and crossover size. It also offers a large selection of colors, including the very blue Grabber Blue Metallic, as well as Rapid Red Metallic. It's a good selection of colors, and there should be an option for most buyers.

Cars

Tesla to begin production on new, more affordable models

Tesla Model 3

With competition increasing from Chinese and other automakers, Tesla boss Elon Musk revealed on Tuesday that his company is planning to begin production of new, more affordable models in “early 2025, if not late this year.” Notably, that's earlier than the previously stated date of late 2025, though whether Musk actually succeeds in meeting the earlier production time frame is another question entirely.

The news came as Tesla released its latest quarterly figures. Revenue for the electric vehicle maker came in at $21.3 billion, down from the $23.3 billion it reported for the same three-month period a year earlier and also down from the $25.2 billion reported in the previous quarter. Profit reached $1.1 billion, marking a 55% fall compared to the same period a year ago.