Dieselgate: Knives come out at Volkswagen
Embattled car-maker to axe a generation of senior engineersGerman media have reported that the Volkswagen Group has a new boss, but the core engineering leaders of the Volkswagen Group have been sacked at an emergency Supervisory Board meeting.
A day after the resignation of long-time Volkswagen CEO Dr Martin Winterkorn, German newspaper Bild has reported that Porsche boss -- and Ferdinand Piech favourite -- Matthias Mueller will take over as the CEO of the Volkswagen Group, effective from today (Friday).
But it’s been a day of carnage for the senior engineering executives beneath him, with Bild reporting that the directors of development at Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen have paid for the 'Dieselgate' emissions scandal with their jobs.
If true, it would leave all three organisations without development leaders, but while Bild has reported that they have been fired, Volkswagen sources insist they could only be removed at today’s (Friday) full meeting of the Supervisory Board.
Those said to be removed in Volkswagen’s day of the long knives include Volkswagen Director of Development, Dr Heinz-Jakob Neusser, Audi Director of Development, Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, and Porsche Director of Development, Dr Wolfgang Hatz.
All three engineers have professional timelines that could have or should have put them in a position to be aware of the “defeat” software code in the Bosch engine management systems at the heart of the emissions scandal, which has affected 11 million Volkswagen cars worldwide.
It also raises questions about whether the trio will be questioned about what they knew about the development of the cheater software code as part of the criminal investigations announced by Volkswagen Supervisory Board interim Chairman Berthold Huber on Wednesday.
Mueller was head of strategy for all Volkswagen brands at the time the crisis was gestating, while Dr Neusser took over as head of Volkswagen powertrain development in 2011.
Another high-profile scapegoat is said to be Volkswagen’s US boss, Michael Horn, who only launched the new Passat in New York on Monday night, telling the waiting media that Volkswagen had “screwed up”. He will be replaced by current Skoda chief, the 58-year-old Winfried Vahland.
But it’s the toppling of the three development directors that has the German industry in a tizz, with the removal of the 65-year-old Hackenberg the most shocking of all.
Considered an “engineer’s engineer” (and closely aligned with Winterkorn), Hackenberg was the driving force behind cars like the A2, the current Audi A4 and Q7 and he engineered the modular MQB architecture beneath the current Golf and Passat, among (many) other cars.
Nine years younger than Hackenberg, Hatz was behind Porsche’s new turbocharged range of 911 engines, along with the stunning all-electric Mission E concept at last week's Frankfurt motor show.
He also drove the development that saw Porsche regain the top step of the podium at the Le Mans 24 Hour this year and was the man who pushed to sign Australian F1 driver Mark Webber.
The short-term result will be a vacuum at Porsche, which won’t have a CEO or a development director. What it will have is a new Director of Human Resources, with Andreas Haffner replacing Thomas Edig.
But the Volkswagen personnel carnage won’t stop there, with Volkswagen’s US sales and marketing boss, Christian Klinger, is also in the crosshairs.
Dieselgate related reading
Müller locked in as Volkswagen CEO
BMW forced to deny emissions rigging
Volkswagen boss Winterkorn to go as crisis spreads
Dieselgate worsens, 11m vehicles could be affected
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