Not a good week for Audi CEO Rupert Stadler whose plans for this week were interrupted somewhat in the early hours of Monday with a knock on his Ingolstadt door followed swiftly by arrest. With top ranking VW Group executives seemingly untouchable since the diesel emissions cheating scandal broke almost three years ago, Stadler’s arrest was a bit of a surprise.
Several low level executives have already been arrested and jailed in the US (which would also like to extradite a certain Herr Winterkorn but a lack of an extradition treaty gives that no realistic chance). But Munich prosecutors now hold the most senior Volkswagen Group official so far to be taken into custody, saying: “The arrest warrant was made because of a risk that evidence might be suppressed. During a search last week there were signs that the accused may tamper with evidence. To influence other suspects or witnesses, or people who could provide information to the investigating authorities.”
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The arrest went down well with some industry observers. Winterkorn resigned in the days after the cheating was disclosed but Stadler had remained in post and was this year promoted by new VW chief Herbert Diess in an overhaul aimed at speeding up the group’s reforms, Reuters noted. “His arrest is another low point in VW’s diesel saga,” Evercore ISI analysts were cited as saying, having earlier criticised the VW group for slow reform. “Almost three years after the diesel scandal broke, it takes police to take action against the Audi CEO.”
Audi and VW said Stadler was presumed innocent unless proved otherwise but almost immediately went into crisis meeting mode with one insider saying Dutchman Bram Schot was the front runner to become interim Audi chief. According to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, VW’s supervisory board had already picked Schot for the job and only needed the formal approval of Audi’s directors but VW denied any such appointment had been made. Next day, of course, came the official confirmation Schot was now interim CEO and a guest at supervisory and management board meetings after Stadler requested he be released from such duties. “”The release is a temporary measure, put in place until the circumstances surrounding Stadler’s arrest have been clarified,” Audi said.
Better news from Toyota was very well read this week – after 15 years the Camry is returning to western Europe (it’s been assembled and sold in Russia for years). With diesel being demonised, thanks to the antics of the likes of VW, it seems Toyota sees a niche, I suspect primarily with fleets, to offer hybrid as an alternative and that’s the only version we will get. No word on source plant, either, though I’d go with Japan.
Volkswagen, again, away from diesel and talking “exploring” a strategic alliance with Ford which appears most likely to bear first fruit in commercial vehicles where alliances and model sharing are common. Thomas Sedran, head of VW group strategy said, “Markets and customer demand are changing at an incredible speed. Both companies have strong and complementary positions in different commercial vehicle segments already. To adapt to the challenging environment, it is of utmost importance to gain flexibility through alliances.
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By GlobalDataVW also renamed its Truck and Bus unit Traton (another weird company name giving no idea of what it does) calling the move “another milestone on the group’s way to increase independence even further and towards capital market readiness”. Might it be hived off? We’ll see. Just today came news of more regional responsibility for individual brands as CEO Herbert Diess continues his overhaul of the group.
Finally, big news for Volvo as it opened its first US car plant, having recruited a seasoned Toyota US manufacturing exec to run it, and revealed the redesigned S60 it will build there.
Have a nice weekend.
Graeme Roberts, Deputy Editor, just-auto.com
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