The CEO Of Volkswagen Admitted They Made A Mistake

Volkswagen begins a new phase of the electric revolution by admitting that it was wrong with the first models: the original ID.3 hatchback and the ID.4 SUV. The renewed ID.3 Neo begins an intensive model renewal, and the small ID.Polo hatchback, ID.Cross SUV, ID.Polo GTI and the refreshed ID.4 follow…

Speaking in Hamburg, Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schaefer described how the company has changed. He became the boss in 2022 and recalled that then the company asked him for its new direction.

– You immediately see where things are not working. It was clear to me that we were actually losing our core: what Volkswagen really represents, the special Volkswagen feeling, for customers, for fans… – writes Auto Express.

Schaefer cited a long list of things that were not done well on the VW ID.3 and ID.4: exterior design that was not true Volkswagen; unintuitive controls, including air conditioning control sliders; and branding strategy, abandoning the name and look of established models like the Golf, Polo, and Tiguan. It promises to correct all those mistakes with a new generation of electric vehicles.

– I am very happy to be standing in front of you today after 1360 days with a strong team and one clear goal: to make real Volkswagen models again, cars that carry the spirit of the brand – he told the gathered journalists.

Kai Greenitz, the head of engineering, blamed the sliding air conditioning controls on former VW CEO Herbert Diess, a Tesla fan who succeeded Winterkorn as head of the VW brand.

The new Volkswagens also needed a radically different interior and exterior design, and future models will show that. Volkswagen will already ID. Half return to the roots…

• Read More: Volkswagen Ends Production Of The ID.4 In The US