DR. WALTHER KIEP, VOLKSWAGEN - AUTOLINE THIS WEEK 1621

EV Channels Review

This episode of Autoline This Week features Dr. Walther Kiep, a former long-serving member of Volkswagen's Supervisory Board, discussing the European automotive market, Volkswagen's global strategy, and his new book. Dr. Kiep highlights Volkswagen's strong performance amidst a European economic slowdown, contrasting it with the struggles of companies like Opel. He elaborates on Volkswagen's significant growth in China, which has surpassed Germany as its largest market. The discussion touches upon Volkswagen's ambitious growth targets, the challenges of family ownership and corporate governance, and lessons learned from past ventures in the US, such as the Westmoreland plant. A key point of discussion is the concept of co-determination (codetermination) in Germany, where labor representatives have equal say on supervisory boards, a system Dr. Kiep strongly advocates for and believes could benefit other regions. The conversation also explores the EU's efforts to manage financial conduct among member states and the evolving economic landscape in China, particularly for its vast rural and migrant worker populations. Dr. Kiep emphasizes the power of brands, using imported German cars in China as an example, and suggests this is a key lesson for American automakers.