Volkswagen AG said Frank Tuch, Porsche's former top quality executive, will become its chief quality officer effective September 1.
Tuch, 43, was most recently chief operating officer at the British sports car maker Lotus Cars, a post he took in May after eight years at Porsche where he rose to become head of corporate quality.
VW CEO Martin Winterkorn is an admirer of Tuch's work at Porsche and credits Tuch with Porsche's rise to the No. 1 spot in the 2010 J.D. Power and Associates U.S. Initial Quality Study.
Winterkorn expects Tuch to help Volkswagen and sister brand Audi boost their rankings in the closely watched survey. Both brands consisently achieve results below the industry average in the study -- VW ranked third from last in 2010. The poor performance hampers VW group's efforts to improve sales in the key U.S. market.
Tuch "will bring us forward in the USA," Winterkorn told reporters at a press event near Munich last month.
Tuch succeeds Hans-Joachim Rothenpieler, 52, who has been appointed managing director for engineering at Volkswagen Sachsen GmbH. Rothenpieler replaces Frank Loeschmann, 46, who becomes VW's new group representative for India, effective October 1.
