On December 9, the Volkswagen Group issued a statement saying that Herbert Diess, head of BMW R&D, will join Volkswagen and assume the position of CEO of the Volkswagen passenger car brand next year. Foreign media said that Diss became the most likely candidate for the next CEO of the Volkswagen Group.
Volkswagen announced that the 56-year-old discis will officially enter the Volkswagen Management Committee from October 1, 2015, replacing Martin Winterkorn as chairman of the Volkswagen Passenger Vehicle Brand Management Committee (equivalent to the CEO); Wendeng will continue to retain the chairmanship of the Volkswagen Group Management Committee. Diss is currently responsible for research and development at the BMW Management Committee.
Foreign media such as "Automotive News" pointed out that Diss is currently in the most promising sequence of accepting Wendeng as the CEO of the Volkswagen Group. The Volkswagen passenger car brand is the flagship of the Volkswagen Group, excluding the Chinese business segment, contributing 60% of sales and 18% of profits. Therefore, holding the flagship brand means that Diss is very close to the entire group.
Wendeng served as the CEO of the Volkswagen until 2016, but the Volkswagen Union hopes to extend it to the end of 2018. At that time, Wendeng may succeed Ferdinand Piech's chairmanship of the Volkswagen Supervisory Board, depending on how long the 17-year-old Piech is willing to take power.
Other candidates include Audi CEO Rupert Stadler, Volkswagen sales manager Christian Klingler, and Skoda CEO Winfried Vahland.