Following the surprise resignation of Volkswagen chief executive Bernd Pischetsrieder, CEO-designate Martin Winterkorn has already announced plans for restructuring at the automaker. Winterkorn wants to see more development synergy between the company’s brands, in order to reduce costs, according to Germany’s Spiegel weekly magazine.
One major change will include the formation of brand groupings. Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, and Bugatti will form a luxury/performance division, which only existed in hypothetically before. The arrangement is expected to be similar to Ford’s Premier Automotive Group.
Meanwhile, the Volkswagen brand, Skoda, and SEAT will form the volume division. It’s unclear how the changes will affect sharing between the VW and Audi brands, or how the four luxury brands might collaborate in the future. It’s also not clear how future involvement by Porsche might affect the arrangements.
