Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Automobilwoche
  • Automotive News Canada
  • Automotive News Mexico
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Login
  • HOME
  • News
    • Photos
    • Automakers
    • Suppliers
    • Sales By Market
    • Environment/Emissions
    • Latest Launches
    • Sales and Retail
    • Car Cutaways
    • On The Move
    • China's Baoneng boosts stake in Qoros
      Citroen says Ami One two-seater is a new concept for affordable mobility
      EU, Japan back automatic braking regulation
      German auto jobs at risk from hard Brexit
    • Europe's first lithium mine looks to automakers for investment
      Driv spinoff to build smart suspension systems
      Faurecia hopes to outperform uncertain market
      Plastic Omnium posts strong results despite global production slump
    • Porsche, Alfa Romeo and Nissan take big hits as European sales fall 5% in January
      Russia sales rise nearly 1% in January despite VAT increase
      Audi, Fiat, BMW among losers as Spanish sales fall 8% in January
      Volvo, VW gain sales in UK market down nearly 2% in January as diesel plunge continues
    • Volvo blurs the wagon/SUV line with the V60 Cross Country
      view gallery
      7 photos
      New Range Rover Evoque designed for the 'urban jungle'
      Range Rover Evoque gets hybrid tech to cut emissions
      Tarraco gives Seat a flagship SUV to help retain wealthy buyers
    • Ferrari will unveil V-8 hybrid supercar this year
      Mercedes outsold Audi in China last month on sedan demand
      Tesla's Musk visits Norway to review delivery delays
      Europe's minicar segment to shrink as VW, PSA mull axing their smallest cars
    • Suppliers to the new Porsche Panamera
      Suppliers to the new Peugeot 5008
      Suppliers to the new Seat Ibiza
      Suppliers to the new VW Touareg
    • Ford names new chief government relations officer
      Daimler appoints Airbus exec as finance chief
      VW China CEO to join VW brand's management board
      Mini USA names marketing veteran McKenna head of product planning
    • Geneva Photo Gallery
    • Beijing Photo Gallery
    • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
    • Paris Photo Gallery
    • Shanghai Photo Gallery
  • Auto Shows
    • Geneva Auto Show
    • Frankfurt Auto Show
    • Paris Auto Show
    • Beijing Auto Show
    • Shanghai Auto Show
    • Peugeot's 508-based Geneva concept previews new range of high-performance electrified vehicles.
      Aston Martin teases new hypercar ahead of Geneva debut
      Bugatti to unveil $18 million special edition named after Ferdinand Piech, report says
      Subaru Viziv Adrenaline concept to debut at Geneva
    • Bugatti considers four-door model for 2024
      Frankfurt's best and wurst
      Frankfurt photo booth
      Merkel says German car industry must work to rebuild trust
    • Vietnam's first automaker now has names for first sedan, SUV
      China's GAC likely to debut in Europe with an EV
      Bugatti mulls SUV as part of broader model range
      Ferrari Monza supercars will earn $755 million in revenue
    • VW will launch SOL EV brand in China with subcompact crossover
      view gallery
      9 photos
      BMW will export iX3 electric SUV to Europe, U.S. from China
      view gallery
      9 photos
      BMW's iX3 concept heralds electric expansion
      view gallery
      11 photos
      Mercedes seeks to keep China luxury lead with stretched A class
    • view gallery
      7 photos
      Jeep finds green groove with plug-in hybrid SUV concept
      view gallery
      10 photos
      Mercedes hints at new styling with sedan concept
      Foreign automakers embrace China as EV development hub
      China lands Chevy Volt in a Buick wrapper
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Luca Ciferri
    • Douglas A. Bolduc
    • Paul McVeigh
    • Is Honda's UK plant closure the beginning of a Japanese Brexit?
      Ford's 'redesign' for Europe emphasizes SUVs, LCVs
      Russia's Google, Yandex, impresses with its self-driving tech
      Renault Twizy gets new life in Korea as motorcycle replacement
    • Is Honda's UK plant closure the beginning of a Japanese Brexit?
      Ford's 'redesign' for Europe emphasizes SUVs, LCVs
      Russia's Google, Yandex, impresses with its self-driving tech
      Renault Twizy gets new life in Korea as motorcycle replacement
    • Is Honda's UK plant closure the beginning of a Japanese Brexit?
      Ford's 'redesign' for Europe emphasizes SUVs, LCVs
      Russia's Google, Yandex, impresses with its self-driving tech
      Renault Twizy gets new life in Korea as motorcycle replacement
    • Is Honda's UK plant closure the beginning of a Japanese Brexit?
      Ford's 'redesign' for Europe emphasizes SUVs, LCVs
      Russia's Google, Yandex, impresses with its self-driving tech
      Renault Twizy gets new life in Korea as motorcycle replacement
  • Maps
    • E-Car & Component Map of Europe
    • Powertrain Map of Europe
    • Assembly Plant Map of Europe
  • Supplements
    • Connected Car
    • Talk From The Top
    • BMW 100
    • Car Cutaways
  • EVENTS & AWARDS
    • Automotive News Europe Congress
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
  • E-MAGAZINE
    • Read the latest issue
    • Download the app
    • Subscribe
  • More
    • E-Magazine
    • Contact Us
    • 2019 Media Kit
    • About Us
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Automotive News Europe
January 31, 2014 12:00 AM

VW offers former Mercedes exec Renschler big budget to be trucks chief, report says

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Renschler oversaw Daimler's truck business for almost nine years.

    FRANKFURT (Bloomberg) -- Volkswagen Group is offering former Mercedes production chief Andreas Renschler a substantial budget to bring in more people to push integration among its three commercial vehicles brands, sources said.

    VW is trying to hire former Renschler to succeed trucks boss Leif Oestling as early as this year, two people familiar with the matter said.

    Renschler oversaw Daimler's truck business for almost nine years, managing the division's investments in emerging markets such as Russia and India before becoming Mercedes production head last April. The 55-year old was seen as a strong contender to succeed Dieter Zetsche in the top job at Daimler.

    On Tuesday, Daimler said Renschler was leaving the company "for personal reasons" with immediate effect.

    Renschler is attractive to VW, which is seeking cost savings through closer cooperation among the Scania, MAN and VW commercial-vehicles nameplates, because of his extensive experience in Daimler's truck unit, the world's biggest by revenue. "It would be positive for VW to hire a successful executive from the largest truck manufacturer," said Frank Schwope, a Hanover, Germany-based analyst at NordLB. "As an external candidate, he's also less involved in any internal sensitivities between Scania and MAN."

    Legal advisers are looking to minimize the non-compete period in Renschler's contract, arguing the role running VW's heavy-truck operations wouldn't make him a direct competitor with Daimler's passenger-car operations, where he most recently worked, one person said.

    VW officials declined to comment.

    Non-compete

    Zetsche said on Thursday in Munich that Renschler won't be allowed to go to a rival for the "foreseeable future."

    "Generally our executives have a lock-up period that bars them from working for a competitor for a certain period of time," Joerg Howe, a Daimler spokesman, said on Thursday. "This period is typically six or 12 months." He declined to comment on Renschler's contract.

    VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech said on Thursday he couldn't comment yet on Renschler because the automaker's supervisory board still needed to decide on the matter, the Stuttgarter Zeitung newspaper cited him as saying.

    "Afterward you can say, the best lure the best," Piech added, according to the report.

    Oestling, whose contract expires next year, was involved in approaching Renschler as a possible successor, one of the people said.

    Cost savings

    Under 68-year-old Oestling, VW has pushed to save 200 million euros ($271 million) in costs annually through cooperation between Germany's MAN, Swedish truckmaker Scania and VW-brand commercial vehicles. Joint projects are under way in purchasing, development, information technology, logistics, finance and legal affairs.

    Volkswagen has worked to streamline automaking costs by standardizing parts and technology across car brands such as Skoda, Seat, the VW nameplate and Audi. That has helped boost profitability as the company seeks to become the world's biggest automaker by 2018. VW is now working to adapt the strategy for its commercial-vehicle operations.

    Daimler's truck marques include Freightliner in the United States, Fuso in Japan and Mercedes in Europe and Brazil.

    "Depending on when Renschler joins VW, he could theoretically even become one of the candidates to eventually succeed Martin Winterkorn as VW CEO -- he's got experience in both the trucks and passenger-car business," Schwope said.

    Renschler, who switched jobs last year at Daimler with Wolfgang Bernhard, decided to leave because his position at Mercedes didn't give him enough decision-making ability, two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Renschler preferred running trucks, where he had free rein with strategic planning, the people said.

    Related Articles
    Mercedes' former production chief Renschler may head VW trucks unit, report says
    Monthly E-Magazine
    Thumbnail
    View latest issue
    See our archive
    Sign up for free newsletters
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up and get the best of Automotive News Europe delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Automotive News Europe Monthly E-Magazine

    Sign up to receive your free link to each monthly issue of Automotive News Europe as soon as it's published.

    GET THE E-MAGAZINE
    Connect with Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram

    Founded in 1996, Automotive News Europe is the preferred information source for decision-makers and opinion leaders operating in Europe.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI  48207-2997
    Tel: +1 877-812-1584


    Email Us

    Resources
    • About us
    • Contact Us
    • 2019 Media Kit
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Awards
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    Copyright © 1996-2019. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HOME
    • News
      • Photos
        • Geneva Photo Gallery
        • Beijing Photo Gallery
        • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
        • Paris Photo Gallery
        • Shanghai Photo Gallery
      • Automakers
      • Suppliers
      • Sales By Market
      • Environment/Emissions
      • Latest Launches
      • Sales and Retail
      • Car Cutaways
      • On The Move
    • Auto Shows
      • Geneva Auto Show
      • Frankfurt Auto Show
      • Paris Auto Show
      • Beijing Auto Show
      • Shanghai Auto Show
    • Opinion
      • Blogs
      • Luca Ciferri
      • Douglas A. Bolduc
      • Paul McVeigh
    • Maps
      • E-Car & Component Map of Europe
      • Powertrain Map of Europe
      • Assembly Plant Map of Europe
    • Supplements
      • Connected Car
      • Talk From The Top
      • BMW 100
      • Car Cutaways
    • EVENTS & AWARDS
      • Automotive News Europe Congress
      • Rising Stars
      • Eurostars
      • Leading Women
    • E-MAGAZINE
      • Read the latest issue
      • Download the app
      • Subscribe
    • More
      • E-Magazine
      • Contact Us
      • 2019 Media Kit
      • About Us