Driving Change

DR ANDREAS LAUERMANN, PRESIDENT & MD, VOLKSWAGEN INDIA, HAS INCULCATED A CUSTOM OF INNOVATION AMONG EACH EMPLOYEE. VOLKSWAGEN IS STILL REAPING THE BENEFITS.

- Jayashree Kini Mendes

HERBIE, A VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE WITH A mind of its own in a series of Disney films launched in the 1960s, had its share of rollercoaster rides. But things had a way of ending up happily for both the car and its passengers. In India, and globally, Volkswagen too has had its fair share of such rides. But this story is about how the company, given its indestructible brand image and a 'people's car', has reinvented itself with more superior vehicles in the last few years.

The figures speak for themselves. In March alone this year, globally, the Volkswagen Group delivered 1.04 million vehicles, and over 2.6 million vehicles in Q1 2018. Volkswagen has a new focus now. The Group is driving forward with the transformation to e-mobility. It has empowered 16 locations around the world to produce battery powered vehicles by the end of 2022.

It is typical for an automotive company to come up with new products regularly, sometimes with cosmetic changes and other times a new variant. Speaking about how the company looks at technological changes, Dr Andreas Lauermann, president & MD, Volkswagen India, says, "Change is constant. Over the years, I have witnessed so much of technology changes and there's more or less a cycle time of seven years. But when you compare the new technologies to the earlier cars, you come to understand that underneath all this lies one fact, Safety."