VW Group announces big changes

He's only had his feet under the desk for a couple of months, but new VW boss Martin Winterkorn (above) is already making big changes to the way Volkswagen and its various subsidiaries operate.

First priority is to make the Golf more profitable. The Golf is an extremely complex car that takes nearly twice as long to build as most rivals, a process that eats badly into VW's profit margin. An all new sixth-generation Golf is planned for 2010, and plans are already in place to make it cheaper and quicker to build without losing the sense of high quality that drives so many Golf sales. It's possible that some of the production changes may be introduced along with a minor facelift as early as next year.

Winterkorn is also instigating a major staff shake-up, bringing in some loyal lieutenants from his former job as head of Audi. First up, Erish Schmitt, former head of Audi purchasing, has been parachuted in to try and revive ailing Seat. It has been suggested that VW may sell off its troubled Spanish division, but Schmitt has announced a major product shake-up, with two all-new models on the way: a sports saloon based on Passat architecture and a compact SUV rival to the Toyota RAV4 and Nissan X-Trail, presumably based on the forthcoming VW Tiguan. Schmitt has promised to place greater emphasis on Seat's Mediteranean qualities, saying that currently, "Seat is run too much like a German firm."

Meanwhile, it's all change over at Bugatti. Thomas Bscher, the charismatic banker/entrepeneur/racing driver, the man who finally brought the complex Veyron supercar to production (and sold enough to keep the Bugatti boys busy for the next two years) has handed in his notice, apparently because of a conflict over future prodcution plans. Bscher wanted Bugatti to start work on a more affordable, higher-profit sports car that had the spectacular looks and style of the Veyron but was much easier and more cost-effective tp produce. But because Porsche is now VW's single-biggest shareholder, it seems that Winterkorn was reluctant to let Bugatti tread too heavily on the famous Weissach-based company's toes, and the plans were shelved. Bscher, it seems, has left in a huff. Bentley boss Fraz-Josef Pfagen will take over at Bugatti (in addition to his Bentley work) until a future for the brand can be worked out.