Former DaimlerChrysler executive Wolfgang Bernhard is not moving to General Motors as has been rumoured, The Car Connection (TCC) website reported.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
GM vice chairman Bob Lutz told TCC: “Wolfgang Bernhard is not coming to General Motors. He will not come to GM. He is not being talked to. We talked to him, as everyone else did, and it was determined it wasn’t the right fit.”
TCC noted that Bernhard’s fate has been uncertain ever since a promotion that would have made him head of DaimlerChrysler’s Mercedes-Benz brand was rescinded earlier this year.
The report added that rumours grew in intensity last month when GM’s product development chief, Mark Hogan, unexpectedly resigned to become head of Canadian supplier Magna. It was widely speculated that Hogan was forced out to find a place for Bernhard, The Car Connection said.
But Lutz told the website it would have been “ridiculous” to force out Hogan without first having Bernhard onboard at GM.
TCC added that the rumors are not likely to die down because Bernhard isn’t expected to simply vanish, as he is considered one of the industry’s best product minds.
For the moment, the report added, attention seems certain to shift to Volkswagen, which was reportedly also talking with Bernhard.
