Volkswagen Considers Breaking Up It's 12 Brands Into 4 Distinct Companies

The Volkswagen Group controls more than a dozen brands and has more than half a million employees around the globe. Understandably, such complexity is difficult to oversee from a centralized hub which is why we may see the automaker’s management and corporate structure reorganized into four separate units.

Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper citing company sources is reporting that the VW Group may be transformed into four separate holding companies. One unit would be in charge of mainstream brands Volkswagen, Skoda and Seat, and led by former BMW executive Herbert Diess.

Audi together with its own subsidiaries Lamborghini, Ducati and design house Italdesign Giugiaro would form another unit, while Porsche together with ultra-luxury brands Bugatti and Bentley would form a third unit.

The fourth and final unit would be made up of commercial vehicles brands VW Commercial Vehicles, Scania and MAN, according to the report.


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USNA1999 - 6/15/2015 1:53:53 PM

+3 Boost

VW should break up their unions so they can become as profitable as TM. But this will never happen, the EU and their unions have full control and eventually they will become the next GM.

MDarringer - 6/15/2015 2:03:39 PM

-1 Boost

I so agree. Splitting VW into semi-autonomous divisions is asinine. Instead, they should be one company that targets segments of the market with surgical precision via their brands and the core values of those brands without product overlap.

Like GM in the 70s, VW has tons of overlap and redundancy that drives vehicle profit down.

mre30 - 6/15/2015 2:49:22 PM

+1 Boost

Its my opinion that the VW group of companies is officially "broken". Its a dysfunctional family that mutually hates its counterparts.

Its building blocks are:
(a) the VW "Golf" architecture and the 2.0T 4 pot engine. This platform stretches from the Golf to the A3/A4/A6 to the Passat etc. etc.
(b) the 911 sportscar
(c) the "phaeton" architecture (underpinning the Phaeton and Bentley and related to the Audi A8)
(d) the W8/W12/W16 rube-Goldberg complex engines underpinning many of the prestige lineup.
(e) everything else - Lambo/R8

All of the above, except for the Golf platform is far from world-class/mainstream.

VW needs a gigantic reorganization.

MDarringer - 6/15/2015 5:33:50 PM

-3 Boost

MQB is not used on Audis above the A3.

Firewombat - 6/15/2015 5:55:19 PM

+1 Boost

@MDarringer it is actually, MQB is used for the new TT.

USNA1999 - 6/15/2015 7:58:50 PM

0 Boost

@mre30 actually the MQB is the way of the future, even TM has decided to copy VW on this. VW sells everywhere except in the USA reflecting they have "world-class/mainstream" vehicles. The main problem is how VW decides to run their business, poor decisions on vehicles like the Phaeton (which is an excellent car) but not be sold as a VW, VW needs to leave cars like this to AUDI, and the stronghold the unions have on the company. They are trying to remain profitable without taking the proper measures they will be another GM.

USNA1999 - 6/15/2015 8:00:47 PM

-1 Boost

By the way, that is like stating the TM builds everything on the CAMRY platform. Wait, I think that is the case;)