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Hinrich J. Woebcken Lays Out Strategy for Volkswagen North American Region

After Michael Horn announced his departure from Volkswagen Group of America, Hinrich J. Woebcken took the reins of the company. One of the first things Mr. Woebcken did as chief executive officer was to introduce the Volkswagen North American Region.
Hinrich J. Woebcken 1 photo
Photo: VW
Abbreviated as NAR, the newly established North American Region will provide the Volkswagen of America, Inc. with better management of the United States, Canada and Mexico part of the business. The primary purpose of NAR is to create “the ability to react better to customer and market demands unique to the region.” Gee, so it took a Dieselgate for Volkswagen to establish NAR?

Criticism aside, NAR is an entity responsible with the aligning of all regional activities of the Volkswagen brand, including product procurement, development, production, sales, and marketing. The structure of NAR is said to allow for closer proximity to the markets and establishes more autonomy, empowerment, collaboration, and responsibility than ever before. Responsibility? Now that’s a word I wasn't expecting.

”With the new structure of the North American Region we will be empowered to make the decisions to bring the vehicles that the consumers in the market are demanding,” declared Hinrich J. Woebcken, the newly appointed chief executive office of North American Region. “I look forward to leading the teams in the U.S., Mexico and Canada and make sure we deliver these markets the right products, with the right content at the right time.”

55-year-old Hinrich J. Woebcken took control of NAR after a first quarter that saw VW sales fall 12.5 percent in the United States. The hardest hit models are the Golf and Passat. In related news, the German manufacturer halted its diesel recalls in Europe on suspicion of fuel consumption increase. In the meantime, the German Federal Motor Transport Authority found out that Volkswagen was the only automaker to use a defeat device after testing more than 50 turbo diesel cars manufactured by 23 different automakers.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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