Volkswagen goes English

Troubled car company Volkswagen has finally found a new way to convince people it’s a proper international organisation and no longer a regional German giant. It has changed its official language to English.

Traditionally the most German-focussed of all of Germany’s seven major car-makers, Volkswagen started moving towards English by making it the official language of its commercial vehicle group before moving the entire company over from now, locking it in by 2021.

Still reeling from the scandal, investigation into and fines from Dieselgate, Volkswagen has made the move to try to attract more international expertise as it moves towards both electric and autonomous technologies.

It’s also yet another move that would have been impossible under old boss, Dr Martin Winterkorn, whose English was poor, though even current Volkswagen Group chairman Matthias Mueller has frequent difficulties with it.

It’s a far cry from the premium German brands, with BMW’s chairman Harald Krueger and Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche fluent in English after stints in the US. Audi chairman Rupert Stadler speaks perfect English, too, but often prefers speaking German, especially on finance subjects.

“Diversity and international experience will be more important for management than ever before,” the Volkswagen Group’s personnel boss Karlheinz Blessing said today.

“We will promote a culture of discussion and decision-making, accept that errors are made, support self-correction, strengthen entrepreneurial thinking and action, encourage agility and reinforce overarching cooperation throughout the Group.

"In future, English is to be the Group language. Digitalization, connectivity and e-mobility will fundamentally change our industry. This is why we are realigning our management culture in good time," he said in a statement.

The cultural shift has been conceived not just to help prevent another Dieselgate from reoccurring, but to develop an international perception that it could never reoccur.

A change in language might be the highlight, but Dr Blessing also flagged a fast-track for female managers to redress a male-heavy management structure.

The core intention, though, is to de-politicise the traditional Wolfsburg-Braunschweig Volkswagen Group power centres in favour of a global perspective.

Wolfsburg was a block of farmland near a town called Fallersleben before Volkswagen began in the 1930s and would become a ghost town if Volkswagen ever left. It is one of the world’s most boring towns in one of Germany’s most boring regions, and even the nearest big city, Hanover, is the dullest major centre in Germany.

Being stuck in this one-company town meant Volkswagen employees, from top to bottom, lived in a bubble and viewed the rest of Germany, much less the world, with suspicion that often bordered on contempt.

“This will improve access to the top management level for international top performers and cooperation among top managers. As a globally positioned Group, we need the best people in the world.

"We want managers to cooperate in the overall interests of the Group and leverage the potential available within this great company with comprehensive knowledge and a concerted effort."