Tag Archives: realignment

Volkswagen

Volkswagen Group is continuing its strategic realignment of its charging and energy business

Volkswagen Group has appointed Giovanni Palazzo as the new Head of Charging and Energy to drive the strategic realignment of the charging and energy business. Palazzo, who also serves as the CEO and Head of Sales for the Elli brand, will focus on expanding the fast-charging network and advancing Volkswagen’s smart energy platform. The collaboration between Elli and Electrify America will be strengthened, new business models will be introduced internationally, and closer cooperation with Group brands and customers will be established. The strategic plan has already been presented to investors and analysts at the Capital Markets Day.

Giovanni Palazzo, Senior Vice President Volkswagen Group Charging and Energy and the CEO of Elli, stated, “Volkswagen Group has a strong foundation in charging and energy, particularly through Electrify America, the largest open charging network in the US, and Elli, the largest mobility service provider in Europe. We aim to expand this expertise throughout the value chain and focus on verticalizing the energy management business, which will be a key revenue driver in the future. This involves a new strategic direction, new business models, and closer collaboration within the division and with Volkswagen Group brands.”

Volkswagen aims to offer innovative solutions for load management, energy market optimization, and energy trading as part of its strategic orientation. The company plans to introduce intelligent charging management services for fleet customers from 2024. Giovanni Palazzo brings valuable experience from his role as the CEO of Electrify America in the North American market. Robert Barrosa has taken over as the President and CEO of Electrify America since June 1.

Thomas Schmall, Member of the Volkswagen Group Board of Management responsible for Technology and CEO of Volkswagen Group Technology, said, “We recognized early on that charging and energy is one of the most important sectors for the growth of electric mobility and the energy transition. It is crucial to develop our own products and services across the entire value chain and establish strategic partnerships in the energy sector. With Giovanni Palazzo, we have an excellent industry expert and a modern leader who will enhance the Group’s competencies in the energy transition. As an experienced international manager, he has the skills to drive global cooperation and innovation partnerships.”

Expansion of the global fast charging network

Volkswagen already operates the largest open charging network in the US through Electrify America. The company aims to collaborate with partners to establish more than 43,000 fast-charging points in Europe, China, and North America by 2025. Electrify America plans to double the number of fast-charging points to 8,000 in North America alone. In Europe, Volkswagen’s Elli brand provides access to over 500,000 charging points as a mobility service provider. Additionally, the CAMS joint venture in China aims to build 17,000 fast-charging points by 2025. The Group will also expand its range of charging and energy services to better meet customer needs.

In addition to home chargers and flexible fast-charging stations, Volkswagen Group will offer charging and energy services such as public charging, green energy, and energy management. Some of these services are already provided by Electrify America in North America and Elli in Europe. In the long term, the Group plans to integrate electric cars as intelligent consumers and power banks within the electricity grid to contribute to the future energy system.

Charging and Energy division within Group Technology

The Charging and Energy division is one of four technology pillars of Group Technology, alongside PowerCo, Group Components, and Group Platform Business. Group Technology, created by Volkswagen two years ago, forms a unique ecosystem around electric mobility, covering all services from components for electric engines and batteries to charging and energy. Volkswagen Group Technology supports brands as a group-wide technology supplier and includes subsidiaries PowerCo and Elli. The division focuses on batteries, charging, and e-components, with PowerCo set to produce the unified cell from 2025. The Platform Business collaborates with external partners such as Ford and Mahindra.

About Elli

Elli, a Volkswagen Group brand with approximately 300 employees, caters to the interface between energy and mobility. As a part of the Group, Elli offers a wide range of energy and charging solutions in Europe and acts as a mobility service provider. Its portfolio includes charging solutions for private customers and companies, charging services, and innovative smart green electricity tariffs. Elli also provides digital solutions and services for charging in public spaces. Established in 2018, Elli has offices in Berlin, Wolfsburg, and Munich.

For more information about Giovanni Palazzo and photos related to this topic, please visit www.volkswagen-group.com or www.elli.eco.

Volkswagen

Structural and personnel realignment at CARIAD

The Supervisory Board of CARIAD has approved a comprehensive realignment of the Volkswagen Group’s software subsidiary. Peter Bosch, previously responsible for manufacturing at Bentley and the Volkswagen AG representative on the Board of Scout Motors, has been appointed CEO. Supported by acknowledged software experts and a transformation team of experienced managers from the Volkswagen Group, CARIAD senior management and technology specialists will comprehensively advance the development of CARIAD.

Oliver Blume, CEO of the Volkswagen Group and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of CARIAD, commented: “Last year, we drew up a ten-point plan for operational and strategic areas of action within the Volkswagen Group. One key element is the realignment of CARIAD, and we have already made good progress. We are now setting the next milestones for advancing strategic, structural and personnel development. CARIAD focuses on the development of digital future technologies for the Group brands. We are stepping up the pace and broadening our approach to partnerships. This is designed to combine our competences with the best solutions on the market for the benefit of our customers. The outcome is even closer software-vehicle development interaction.”

In the past few years, experts from all over the world have been recruited and inspired with the ambition to develop a uniform operating system for all Group brands.

“When I took office in September 2022, I underscored that CARIAD is a key success factor for the Volkswagen Group. As one of the core elements in our 10-point plan, we have addressed key issues:

  • Sharpening CARIAD’S core competences
  • Revising the interfaces with the brands
  • Realistic sequences for the software architectures
  • Boosting effectiveness
  • Expanding strategic partnerships

We have taken important decisions on these issues in the past few months and have set our guardrails – for example, we have organized the software architectures and their timelines for our vehicle projects. We have drawn further specific conclusions on the basis of our thorough analyses, and are now advancing the in-depth development of CARIAD. We would like to thank Dirk Hilgenberg and his team for their passionate commitment and the progress they have achieved. We are already in talks with them about possible new roles within the Volkswagen Group,” Oliver Blume said.

Peter Bosch named new CEO

Peter Bosch assumes responsibility as CEO of CARIAD effective June 1, 2023. As the Member of the Board for Manufacturing at Bentley Motors since 2017, he shared responsibility for the successful restructuring and reorganization of the company. Peter Bosch is an experienced Volkswagen manager, having held several other posts within the Group, including roles within the Volkswagen brand. As a Member of the Board of Scout Motors, he was recently closely involved in establishing the manufacturer of full-electric R-SUVs and Pickups in North America. Within CARIAD, Bosch will also assume responsibility for Finance, Purchasing and IT.

“Peter Bosch is the right CEO at the right time,” Oliver Blume said. “He is a strategist, an enabler and a team player. He successfully proved that at Bentley. He knows the Volkswagen Group well and also has extensive experience in the fields of change and consulting.”

Going forward, the new CEO will be joined on the Board of Management by two acknowledged software experts. CARIAD will announce these appointments in the near future. The final Board Member is Rainer Zugehör, who retains his role as Chief People Officer (CPO).

In addition, an experienced Transformation Board is already in place to provide CARIAD with further support. This board brings together selected CARIAD managers to create a highly-competent team to shape the realignment. “The focus is on steering the transformation process and advancing cooperation between CARIAD and the Volkswagen Group brands – with a team spirit, fairness and passion,” Michael Steiner, Member of the Supervisory Board of CARIAD and responsible for development in the Volkswagen Group, said. According to Steiner, the Supervisory Board specifically focused on a team of experienced managers from all Volkswagen Group brands, CARIAD experts and new external managers.

The comprehensive realignment of CARIAD is based on five points:

  1. Restructuring of the CARIAD organization
  2. Accelerated execution of the E³ platforms
  3. Structural orientation to the development of software-defined vehicles (SDV)
  4. Intensified technology partnerships with strong tech players
  5. A new leadership and team model

Software based: the software-defined vehicle architecture

CARIAD will play an even greater role in developing the vehicles of the future, from software to hardware. For example, there are plans for an integrated project house with the Volkswagen and Audi brands to develop the next generation of software-defined vehicles.