TRATON boss replaced
MAJOR EXECUTIVE CHANGES WITHIN THE Volkswagen Group have spilled over into its TRATON trucks division, with the surprise departure of its leader.
Andreas Renschler had headed VW’s heavy truck interests for the past five years – leading the 2018 establishment of the division, which has Scania, MAN, and the Brazilian VW trucks operation in its stable.
The former boss of Daimler Trucks was at the forefront of TRATON’s often-stated ambition to become “a global champion” among truckmakers – advancing its competitiveness with the Volvo Group and Daimler Trucks by brokering a deal to work closely with Hino and overseeing the purchase of a small shareholding in North American truckmaker Navistar.
He also led TRATON’s $US2.9billion offer in January to buy Navistar outright. Now industry commentators in Europe and the United States are speculating on whether his departure signals a change of heart on the No. 1 truckmaker aspirations by TRATON’s supervisory board.
Renschler has been replaced as CEO of TRATON and chairman of its board of management by the division’s CFO Matthias Gruendler.
TRATON management board member Joachim Drees, who led MAN Trucks, is also out – leaving, said the company, “by best mutual consent.” Also gone is the division’s personnel chief Carsten Intra.
In announcing the departure of the key execs, supervisory board chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch expressly thanked Renschler for the success he achieved in TRATON’s path towards becoming a global champion.
He has, he said, “made a significant contribution to the successful course taken by TRATON.”
In Matthias Gruendler the company has a successor who is, he said, “one of the most experienced experts in the industry. In addition, he knows the company from his years of experience and has also played a significant role in the company’s development.
“He will now continue this course on the front line with the entire TRATON team,” said Pötsch.
The changes were effective a week after the July announcement. European media reports say there has been “internal tension” in the VW Group, which has arisen from the expensive programme to electrify VW’s automotive lineup, while coping with the industry slump brought on by COVID-19. Group CEO Herbert Diess was among the casualties before the TRATON changes.
T&D