"Do you have any friends, Mr. Flower?"
Oliver Blume has been leading both the Volkswagen Group and its subsidiary Porsche for two years. He dismisses criticism of his dual role, stating, "We have delivered on all our promises so far," he told RTL/ntv in an interview.
Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume has rejected criticism of his dual role. For nearly two years, the manager has been at the helm of the VW Group and its marque Porsche. "We operate in a very complex and challenging environment," Blume said in a conversation with RTL/ntv. Therefore, "the dual role is particularly important as it allows for strategic decisions to be made from different perspectives."
Among other things, Blume's role was criticized by shareholder representatives at the annual meeting at the end of May. "Even a top manager only has 24 hours in a day," said Janne Werning of Union Investment. "Your predecessor was already fully occupied with one company and couldn't meet the enormous challenges," added Ingo Speich of DekaBank, referring to the former VW CEO Herbert Diess.
In the interview, Blume responded to a question about whether he has any free time or friends given his workload: "Of course." This depends on proper organization, setting priorities, and delegating tasks. "I have a very, very good team around me, and so I find this job very enjoyable. I also feel fit to do it," Blume said. Currently, "both companies clearly benefit more from me having this dual role." Blume has been leading Porsche since 2015, and in September 2022, he succeeded Diess as VW Group CEO.
Stocks going down
Meanwhile, the VW share price has fallen by around 20 percent during Blume's dual role. He makes his decisions not based on daily reactions at the capital market, Blume said. The VW strategy is long-term oriented. "We have delivered on all our promises so far," the manager said. Last year, the VW Group achieved a record result. The first half of 2024 was solid - "and that under the most difficult framework conditions in the middle of the restructuring and realignment with many new products." Therefore, he is confident that "we will continue to deliver in the future" - and that this will also be reflected on the stock market.
At the end of the first half, there was a slight increase in sales to around 159 billion euros and a decrease in operating profit to around 10 billion euros. Blume has prescribed a multi-billion euro savings program for the Wolfsburg automaker. Costs at the core Volkswagen brand are to fall by 10 billion euros per year by 2026, while profit margins are to rise to 6.5 percent. The group has set itself a profit margin target of 8 percent for the Core brand group, which includes Volkswagen including commercial vehicles, Skoda, and Seat/Cupra.
Despite the 20% decrease in Volkswagen's share price during Oliver Blume's dual role, he remains confident that the company will continue to deliver, citing their record results from the previous year and solid performance in the first half of 2024. The economy of Volkswagen Group, under Blume's leadership, remains focused on long-term strategies, regardless of daily market reactions.
