VW reportedly fires CEO Herbert Diess over software and other issues

According to a report by Automobilwoche. The report noted that families no longer trusted Diess to lead VW into the future.

The now former VW CEO, who also happens to be very pro-EV, was unexpectedly fired a few days ago.

Software problems and the Porsche and Piech families

According to car week, the “driving force” for Diess was the Porsche and Piech families. Apparently, he had been pissing off families for a long time. This and the accusation that Porsche and Audi jeopardized the Cariad project with their need for special requests upset the Porsche family.

Additionally, Diess shared his solution for Cariad in a meeting but didn’t present it to the supervisory board until a week and a half later. This, the article pointed out, caused resentment.

He also pointed out that Diess has not been fully fired from the company since his contract was extended last year until October 2025.

Thoughts from Brent Winton of ARK Invest.

Brett Winton of ARK Invest shared his thoughts on the matter. He pointed out that OEMs still view software as a cosmetic cost center rather than a key performance differentiator. This, he says, will be their death.

https://t.co/ZX1c6EIbgo

— Brett Winton (@wintonARK) July 24, 2022

Elon Musk on the dismissal of Herbert Diess.

Asked by @WholeMarsBlog To share his thoughts on VW’s departure from Diess, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said software was key to the future. This echoes what Brett Winton said.

Software is the key to the future

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 24, 2022

Will VW be as pro EV as it was under Diess?

I don’t know the answer to that question, but I suspect not – not at the level of Diess. I’m sure they’ll be pro-EV enough to try to compete with Tesla but no more than that.

Elon Musk and Herbert Diess respect each other enormously. Elon Musk appeared virtually at the 2021 VW Managers’ Leadership Summit last year, where the former VW CEO stressed the importance of changing the mindset of the company in order to cope with a new competition.

I don’t think the new CEO will support the CEO of Tesla as openly as Diess. Who knows? I could be wrong. The future will be interesting.

VW reportedly fires CEO Herbert Diess over software and other issues