Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

BMW

VW CEO survives despite departure rumours

Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn has dodged a broadside from company chairman Ferdinand Piech which many thought would unseat him from the troubled car maker. Instead, the steering committee has offered him an extension to his contract.

Published: 17 April 2015 12:15 CEST
Updated: 17 April 2015 13:53 CEST

VW CEO survives despite departure rumours

Photo: DPA

The announcement on Friday followed a secretive meeting in Salzburg on Thursday evening, which saw the first encounter between the two since Piech's comment that he was "distancing" himself from Winterkorn in advance of his contract running out at the end of 2016.

The company said it hopes that Winterkorn will fulfil the role “in the future with the same enthusiasm and success as he has so far demonstrated.”

The car manufacturer was thrown into crisis last week after Piech made comments to Spiegel suggesting he had lost faith in Winterkorn.

The 78-year-old Piech has been at the head of the company for 22 years. He has announced his intention to retire in two years' time.

It had previously been believed that Winterkorn, a once close ally of his, would take over his position at the summit of Germany's largest automotive company.

However troubles within the core division and the need to cut billions in costs appear to have put a strain on the relationship.

Piech's comments to the press have previously proved to be the kiss of death for company executives.

In November 2006 Winterkorn's predecessor Bernd Pischetsrieder resigned after Piech said his contract extension was an “open issue.”

In 2009 public comments by Piech led to the resignations of Volkswagen subsidiary Porsche's CEO and Chief financial officer.

Despite profit concerns, Volkswagen has seen considerable growth under Winterkorn.

Since he took over as CEO in 2007 the companms has more than doubled its number of production plants and bought four new brands, bringing the total to 12.

Sales have also increased by 64 percent, with 10.1 million vehicles sold last year, reports Reuters.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

From lizards to water, eco-bumps snag Tesla's giant Berlin car factory

Tesla's gigafactory outside the doors of Berlin. dpa-Zentralbild | Patrick Pleul

“When I saw on TV that the Tesla factory was going to be built here, I couldn’t believe it,” said Steffen Schorch, driving his trusty German-made car.

The 60-year-old from Erkner village in the Berlin commuter belt has become one of the faces of the fight against the US auto giant’s first European factory, due to open in the Brandenburg region near Berlin in July.

“Tesla needs far too much water, and the region does not have this water,” said the environmental activist, a local representative of the Nabu ecologist campaign group.

Announced in November 2019, Tesla’s gigafactory project was warmly welcomed as an endorsement of the “Made in Germany” quality mark – but was immediately met with opposition from local residents.

Demonstrations, legal action, open letters – residents have done everything in their power to delay the project, supported by powerful
environmental campaign groups Nabu and Gruene Liga.

Tesla was forced to temporarily suspend forest clearing last year after campaigners won an injunction over threats to the habitats of resident lizards and snakes during their winter slumber.

READ MORE: Is Germany’s Volkswagen becoming ‘the new Tesla’ as it ramps up e-vehicle production?

And now they have focused their attention on water consumption – which could reach up to 3.6 million cubic metres a year, or around 30 percent of the region’s available supply, according to the ZDF public broadcaster.

The extra demand could place a huge burden on a region already affected by water shortages and hit by summer droughts for the past three years.

Local residents and environmentalists are also concerned about the impact on the wetlands, an important source of biodiversity in the region.

Tesla Street

“The water situation is bad, and will get worse,” Heiko Baschin, a spokesman for the neighbourhood association IG Freienbrink, told AFP.

Brandenburg’s environment minister Axel Vogel sought to play down the issue, saying in March that “capacity has not been exceeded for now”.

But the authorities admit that “the impact of droughts is significant” and have set up a working group to examine the issue in the long term.

The gigafactory is set to sprawl over 300 hectares – equivalent to approximately 560 football fields – southwest of the German capital.

Tesla is aiming to produce 500,000 electric vehicles a year at the plant, which will also be home to “the largest battery factory in the world”,
according to group boss Elon Musk.

In a little over a year and a half, swathes of coniferous forest have already been cleared to make way for vast concrete rectangles on a red earth base, accessed via the already iconic Tesla Strasse (Tesla Street).

German bureaucracy

The new site still has only provisional construction permits, but Tesla has been authorised by local officials to begin work at its own risk.

Final approval depends on an assessment of the project’s environmental impact – including the issue of water.

In theory, if approval is not granted, Tesla will have to dismantle the entire complex at its own expense.

But “pressure is being exerted (on the regulatory authorities), linked to Tesla’s significant investment”, Gruene Liga’s Michael Greschow told AFP.

In early April, Tesla said it was “irritated” by the slow pace of German bureaucracy, calling for exceptions to the rules for projects that help the environment.

Economy Minister Peter Altmaier agreed in April that his government “had not done enough” to reduce bureaucracy, lauding the gigafactory as a “very important project”.

Despite Germany’s reputation for efficiency, major infrastructure projects are often held up by bureaucracy criticised as excessive by the business community.

Among the most embarrassing examples are Berlin’s new airport which opened last October after an eight-year delay and Stuttgart’s new train station, which has been under construction since 2010.

Brandenburg’s economy minister, Joerg Steinbach, raised the possibility in February that the Tesla factory could be delayed beyond its July planned opening for the same reason.

SEE ALSO: Tesla advertises over 300 jobs for new Gigafactory near Berlin

Url copied to clipboard!