Volkswagen’s U.S. subsidiary names new president and CEO

Rivian Automotive’s Kjell Gruner will become the new president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America on Dec. 12, the Reston-headquartered subsidiary of the German automaker announced Tuesday.

Gruner succeeds Pablo Di Si, who “has stepped down … on his own request,” according to a news release. Di Si assumed the role in September 2022, when Scott Keogh became president and CEO of Volkswagen electric vehicle brand Scout. Until Dec. 12, Gerrit Spengler, the America subsidiary’s chief human resources officer, will serve as interim CEO.

Business publications in Germany and the U.S. reported that Di Si may lose his job because he didn’t meet his profit projections, chiefly because of “lackluster sales” of VW’s electric vehicles in the United States, TheStreet reported earlier in the month.

Gruner, who will also be CEO of Volkswagen Brand North America, has more than 25 years of automobile industry experience. He was most recently chief commercial officer and president of business growth at electric vehicle company Rivian Automotive.

On Nov. 12, Rivian and Volkswagen announced their new joint venture, in which Volkswagen plans to invest up to $5.8 billion. The two companies expect to deliver Rivian’s R2 — a five-seat SUV — in the first half of 2026 and to launch Volkswagen models with Rivian’s electrical architecture and software technology stack as early as 2027.

“Kjell Gruner is an absolute expert for the U.S. market,” Gunnar Kilian, group board member for human resources at Volkswagen, said in a statement. “He has over 25 years of experience in the automotive industry and extensive know-how in exploiting and expediting growth opportunities in North America …

“Volkswagen AG is indebted to his predecessor, Pablo Di Si,” Kilian continued. “His outstanding commitment was of central importance in realigning our business in South America. He subsequently laid the foundation for the positive development of our North American strategy.”

Gruner began his career as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group in 1997. He held management positions at Porsche in Stuttgart, Germany, before moving to the strategy department of DaimlerChrysler in 2004. In 2006, he headed Mercedes-Benz Cars’ strategy department. Four years later, he returned to Porsche as its global chief marketing officer, and in 2020, he became president and CEO of Porsche Cars North America.

In the first nine months of this year, Volkswagen delivered 769,000 vehicles, according to a news release, an increase of more than 7% compared with 2023.

Volkswagen Group of America has approximately 10,000 employees in the U.S. and sells its vehicles through a network of about 1,000 independent dealers.

Based in Wolfsburg, Germany, the Volkswagen Group has 114 production facilities across 17 European countries and 10 countries in the Americas, Asia and Africa. The car maker has about 684,000 employees worldwide. Its vehicles are sold in more than 150 countries. In 2023, Volkswagen reported 322.3 billion euros — about $341.37 billion — in sales revenue.