Volkswagen Group is reorganizing its procurement leadership to better deal with supply chain disruption. Dirk Grosse-Loheide, formerly the head of procurement and IT at Audi, will now oversee purchasing for the entire Volkswagen Group. And he’ll also replace Murat Aksel as VW’s head of procurement for consumer vehicles. In a statement released Tuesday, Volkswagen Group parent company Audi announced that Aksel would replace Stefan Gramse on the executive board of its MAN Truck & Bus business.
Until a replacement is found, Große-Loheide will remain in charge of procurement and information technology at Audi. The CEO of the Volkswagen Group, Oliver Blume, stated that one of Große-main Loheide’s responsibilities would be to work closely with the company’s suppliers to stabilize the group’s supply chains better. According to Blume, one of Aksel’s primary responsibilities at MAN will be to help stabilize the company’s supply networks amid the ongoing increase in truck manufacturing for heavy commercial vehicles. Aksel, formerly of BMW, has been VW’s CPO since the beginning of 2021.
According to VW, the alterations will be implemented on January 1st. Because semiconductors and other components have been in limited supply, most automakers, including Volkswagen, have experienced delivery difficulties and production halts. Volkswagen brand president Thomas Schaefer said earlier this month that the company’s Wolfsburg site is producing under 400,000 autos yearly, or less than half of its capacity, due to “flat-out chaos” in the supply chain.