[opinion] - hmmm…VW/Audi/Porsche _IS_ in trouble… [⚠️ ADMIN WARNING: NO INSULTING / POLITICALLY CHARGED POSTING]

[SoccerMan94043]

Volkswagen CEO says 50,000 more job cuts may be needed to close competitive gap

Yup... it's certainly those 50K people and not the leadership over the last 10 or 15 years, who are preventing VW from being competitive.

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[Fun TC Driving]

VW Board Reject Blume’s Restructuing Plan, Thanks Autoline, key segment starting at 1:17 into the video.

 

[Tooney]

Showdown in Wolfsburg: VW's Board Blocks Blume's Radical Cuts — Now a Months-Long Power Struggle Looms

 

[Vim Schrotnock]

Bigger trouble than I thought. No chance the Taycan survives as a new model after 2030. We'll see about the 718...

 

[Fun TC Driving]

I agree that Taycan’s days as being its own model are very limited. Currently the 911 and the Taycan are both made at Zuffenhausen. Move Taycans away from Zuffenahusen and create greater assembly capability in the plant for more 911’s to built. Since Panamera sales (made at Leipzig) also are also marginal like the Taycan , they could move the 2030 Taycan’s into Leipzig, especially if it and the Panamera are then merged into a single model with three powertrains, e.g., ICE, hybrid, and BEV.

This economical one-platform/one-plant but three powertrain options is how BMW is and will be building iX3’s and its iX5’s. When I worked on an assembly plant summers to put myself through college, we made in that one plant, often running nose to tail, very differnt models including not just medium and full sized cars but also pick-ups, small box vehicles (e.g., ambulances), medium sized trucks, and even assembling very long chassis for full length school buses.

After factory initial set up model set up and assembly line new equipment is introduced, the entire factory can be very economically operated when putting together the three-powertrain 2030+ Panamera line — as is being in the Leipzig plan right now were for example they are making ICE Macans, hybrid ones, and also Macan EV’s.

 

[Tooney]

VW Group Executive Board Presents Future Plan

Volkswagen Group tells its board how to fix it, unions disagree

 

[Sar]

Cutting 100,000 jobs is absolutely insane. It's incredible how much the foundation of the car industry is being shaken and broken by China.

It's huge news when Meta and Microsoft lay off ~5,000 and this is 20x that.

 

[PorscheTaycan]

Cutting 100,000 jobs is absolutely insane.

Robots? AI?

 

[Tooney]

VW on the brink

VW investor Qatar complicates plant deal talks with Israeli arms maker, sources say

 

[chun]

VW on the brink

Chinese automakers are struggling to find factories to buy, or that they are allowed to buy, despite EU claiming that as long as they build the cars in EU, all is ok.

So I think that the factory won't stay closed for long if it does ger closed. Albeit, it would definitely come back online with a lot less workers, and more automation.

But of course, Germany would never allow for non-german brand cars to be built in germany.

VW is caught between a rock and a hard spot, or however the saying goes. On one hand, Germany doesn't allow them to restrcutre their business, to bring down price of cars via automation, as it would imply job losses. They are also not allowed to close their factories, and reduce their business size, as it will impact the german industry. They are also not allowed to sell the factories, as it would no longer be "german industry".

Of course, no one else beside VW is to blame for these problems. They did receive money from EU & German goverment for EV development, same as Chinese companies did, and instead of building competitive products and taking advantage of their market leader position - maybe even sell at a slight loss to ensure quick adoption, they decided to go for max profits with the bare minimum EV product and instead blame the market from day 1 product 1.

Curious how this will go for VW, but if history is anything to go by, it's bankrupcy followed by the german govment saving them with people's taxes.

 

[Tooney]

Explainer-Volkswagen Law: the unique structure behind Europe's biggest carmaker
Decisions that usually require a three-quarters majority at the annual general meeting must be passed by more than four-fifths of Volkswagen shareholders, giving Lower Saxony a blocking minority.

Any decision to build or move a production plant also needs approval of a two-thirds majority in the 20-strong supervisory board, the law says, without specifically mentioning closures.

This means the 10 members on the board representing German labour can veto any far-reaching plans that affect factories.

 

[Tooney]

Economists Raise Possibility of Chinese Takeover for the Volkswagen Group

 

[PorscheTaycan]

Economists Raise Possibility of Chinese Takeover for the Volkswagen Group

So one day we will all be driving Chinese cars…

 

[daveo4EV]

So one day we will all be driving Chinese cars…

given where all the silicon chips are made we're already pretty close…

 

[whitex]

Showdown in Wolfsburg: VW's Board Blocks Blume's Radical Cuts — Now a Months-Long Power Struggle Looms

Gotta love this quote:

Days after the defeat, Blume shifted his public messaging. "There are smarter solutions than closing plants," he told Bild am Sonntag

which if you think about it, translates to "I went to board with not to smart ideas, but they gave me the smarter ideas to implement".

So now the question is, why would the board want to keep a CEO who proposes stupid ideas?

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