Gernot Doellner will take charge of the carmaker from September 1, 2023.
Audi has appointed Gernot Doellner as its new chief executive officer (CEO), effective September 1, 2023. Before his new position, Doellner was the Volkswagen Group's strategy and general secretariat boss since 2021.
The German carmaker's new CEO is a mechanical engineer who joined the Volkswagen Group as a PhD candidate. He also has prior experience as Porshe's head of concept development and the Panamera series.
Doellner replaces Markus Duesmann, who Audi thanked for his essential work, foresight, and vision. According to a report from Forbes, however, the now ex-CEO was sacked due to Audi's poor sales performance in China and its slow EV model rollout.
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If one remembers, the brand shared grand plans for the Chinese EV market in 2021, which appears to have not worked.
VW Group CEO Oliver Blume is noted to have been openly critical of Audi's poor showing under Duesmann. A specific example of this was citing its poor Q1 2023 performance against Tesla during the conglomerate's capital markets day.
Audi is also said to have fallen behind among brands within the VW Group, where electrified models are concerned. While the brand's Q6 e-tron is yet to be launched, the Lamborghini Aventador's successor, the Revuelto, already features a 6.5-liter V12 paired with three electric motors.
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The report further stated that the ex-CEO didn't get internal political support. This happened as soon as VW Group's former Chairman, Herbert Deiss, was removed from his station and prosecuted for involvement in the Dieselgate scandal. Duesmann was a protege of Deiss.
Regarding Doellner's rise as CEO, Supervisory Board, and Chairman of the Audi General Works Council, Peter Mosch says that Doellner is the right man for the job in shaping Audi as a more independent brand within the group.
It appears that Doellner has a massive task at hand. Good thing Blume already carved the path for him, including introducing more electric performance models with the RS badge, and joining the RS e-tron GT in the lineup.
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Keyword: Audi Appoints New CEO After Firing Markus Duesmann For Poor Performance