Volkswagen Group is stuck between a rock and a hard place at the moment. On the one hand, deliveries to China – once VW’s most lucrative market – dropped by a whopping 36.6% in the second quarter of 2026. And then there is the pressure caused by Trump’s tariffs over in America, said to incur an annual cost of around $4.6 billion for the auto giant.
Clearly, VW Group and its subsidiaries have seen better days, so the company is now shuffling things around in an attempt to find solutions. What that means in practice is a leadership change for its North American operations, which is taking place only around two years after the previous one.
Volkswagen Group Of America Has A New CEO
Volkswagen Group
Marco Schubert was recently appointed as a member of VW Group’s Extended Executive Committee for the North American Region, taking the reins from Kjell Gruner. He’ll be assuming his new role on October 1, thus becoming the 12th CEO for Volkswagen Group Of America since 1993. As for Gruner, he is stepping down from the leadership position to pursue other career opportunities.
Previously, Schubert served as Audi’s sales chief, a position due to be taken over by Martin Sander from the Volkswagen Brand Board of Management. Sander is, in turn, being replaced with Martin Jahn, whose prior role at Škoda’s Board of Management for Sales and Marketing will be occupied by Martina Biene. And lastly, Biene’s duties as Chair and Managing Director of Volkswagen Group Africa are being passed on to Christiane Zorn.
What’s Oliver Blume’s Take On This?
Volkswagen Group chief Oliver Blume is renwoned for having great relationships with the blue-collar workers and well-heeled investors.Volkswagen
“I am delighted that, in appointing Marco Schubert, we have gained a sales professional with a wealth of international experience to serve on the Extended Executive Committee of the Volkswagen Group for the North America region,” said Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume in a recent statement. With Schubert at the helm in the US, Blume hopes to bolster the company’s presence on the American market and make up for the lost ground in China.
“Leveraging his expertise and profound understanding of customers and markets, he will play a pivotal role in driving the strategic and organizational transformation of our company across North America. In this extremely challenging environment, Kjell Gruner has successfully advanced the business in a sustainable manner, launched key models such as the new Atlas, and strengthened the Volkswagen brand.” It remains to be seen how Schubert navigates VW Group’s current, less-than-ideal situation.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
Kjell Gruner became VW Group of America’s CEO in December 2024, meaning he’s spent less than two years as the big boss before being succeeded by Marco Schubert. Such a rapid change of leadership isn’t necessarily unusual for Volkswagen, but it does indicate the turbulent position it’s currently in. At the same time, though, it can also be good news for its future prospects.
Schubert has already led Audi through tough times during his tenure as the brand’s sales boss, so who’s to say he won’t be able to work wonders for Volkswagen Group in America? It’s a tall order given all the pressure VW is facing right now, but let’s not jump to any conclusions before we see how things play out.
Source: Volkswagen Group
