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2021 m. spalio 28 d., ketvirtadienis

Volkswagen is not Tesla

"VW boss Herbert Diess emulates Elon Musk. That always brings drama with it, like this week. The corporation has no time for such an act.

This week, Volkswagen was once again a stage that offers entertaining material. At the beginning of the week, Herbert Diess, the boss, sent a lively selfie of himself and an electric VW into the world. A weekend trip to Styria where both shone in the sun.

The employee representatives in Europe's largest industrial group can do little with this self-portrayal, which he often practices, but the new works council boss Daniela Cavallo has so far let him show off. But this week her collar burst, understandably: This is acting unprecedentedly provocative, never in the history of Volkswagen has a manager been so ignorant and disrespectful to the workforce in times of crisis, she wrote in a letter that was as open as it was sharp . It was about self-portrayal, but above all about the fact that the chairman of the board wants to have the stage all to himself in Wolfsburg. Because of a trip to investors in the US, he could not attend the regular works meeting (the first in two years), he said. Instead, he had arranged a separate audience for 200 employees.

Cavallo's message worked. This is coming now, the investor visit has been postponed. The curtain could now fall and the audience could say - quite accurately -: The right side has prevailed. Diplomatic employee woman wins over cheeky employer man, so to speak. Wolfsburg against Wall Street. Participation against big money.

But the next act is sure to come - and the underlying problem is bigger than these scenes.

Because Diess has the trillion in mind, i.e. Elon Musk, who has meanwhile pushed Tesla to this market value. The VW Group builds around 20 times as many vehicles as Tesla - but is only worth a seventh as much, despite all the brands from Audi to Porsche. 

 

Catching up seems a long way off, as the core brand VW needs twice as long to build a car as its US competitor.

 

Volkswagen has to become more modern - but not by emulating the US competition

Diess’s plan, which is understandable at first glance: VW should become like Tesla. He also emulates Elon Musk personally. Everything pays off. His communication strategy including selfies and live conversations with the role model, the planned trip to the USA to see investors and the pressure from his board of directors on the headquarters in Wolfsburg. More efficiency! Faster decisions! Otherwise the situation will soon be life-threatening!

 

The finding is correct, yes, but Diess also has to be aware that the market value is not the decisive factor for the success of VW. The state of Lower Saxony and the Porsche and Piëch families hold three quarters of the company. The finances are well organized at the moment. And the people at VW are more loyal to their company than is the case elsewhere, which is also due to the legally anchored special say.

 

These structures can only be perceived as an obstacle, especially if, like Diess, one constantly compares it with Tesla, where Musk rules as the sole ruler. 

 

Or you take VW for what it is: a company that has a high level of competence and a strong foundation. 

 

And that is incredibly complicated and also encrusted, of course that too. VW definitely has to renew itself. But the continued use of destructive devices by Diess - the images used by VW employees vary from sledgehammers to arson - is not doing the company any good. At least not in this frequency. Because the small and large spectacles and friction cost attention in all departments, with all 670,000 people. And wasting time that VW actually doesn't have.

 

Especially since actually all the relevant forces, including the employees under the actually compensatory Cavallo, want to successfully lead this shop into the future, at the end of which there is the self-driving electric car and as many jobs as possible. 

 

This path is damned exhausting and difficult anyway - even without communicative drama."


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