(Bloomberg) -- Volkswagen AG named a former Porsche and Rivian executive as head of its Americas division as it confronts lackluster electric vehicle sales and an expected shift in US policy on EVs with Donald Trump set to return to the White House.
Pablo Di Si, the Argentine executive who had led Volkswagen Americas the past two years, is being replaced by Kjell Gruner, who most recently led commercial strategy and development at Rivian. VW this month entered a €5.8 billion joint-venture to work on EV software technology with Rivian.
The change takes effect on Dec. 12, with Gerrit Spengler, VW’s chief human resources officer in the US, serving on an interim basis in the role until then. Di Si stepped down at “his own request,” following a decade of service that included leading the German carmaker’s South American business, the company said.
While Volkswagen’s overall US sales rose 6% in the third quarter, sales of all-electric ID.4 plummeted more than 50% in the same period, and the EV share of total deliveries fell to 6.4% in the first nine months of the year.
Volkswagen is working on several fronts to regain momentum in its bumpy EV rollout that included delays and glitchy software.
This includes joining forces with Rivian to gain access to the startup’s technology and software. The two carmakers also plan to develop an EV platform together.
The US market has eluded Volkswagen for years. Its forthcoming Scout line of battery-powered sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks is being touted as a linchpin for expanding VW’s market share as growth slows in Europe and competition intensifies in China.
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