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Volkswagen Group has promoted from within to fill the vacant global chief marketing officer (CMO) space at its eponymous brand, appointing Susanne Franz to the position.
Franz has led global marketing for the group’s Audi brand since 2019. Now, she will be tasked with overseeing Volkswagen’s marketing efforts globally for its passenger car business.
Among her core remit will be expanding the German car marque’s overall customer experience internationally, and making Volkswagen the brand that can shift most cars globally.
The appointment follows the recent departure of global CMO, Nelly Kennedy, who stepped down in Feb. 2023 after just over 12 months in the role for personal reasons.
In a statement, Volkswagen’s sales and marketing chief, Imelda Labbe, said: “With her strong understanding of the brand and her omnichannel marketing expertise, Susanne will play a key role in further boosting VW internationally and carrying our iconic brand values through the transformation into the future.”
A long road ahead
Before leading Audi’s marketing department, Franz was responsible for marketing at Volkswagen’s Spanish sister company, Seat.
Prior to joining Volkswagen Group in 2012, she served as marketing director for Stellantis brand Alfa Romeo and general manager for marketing at Suzuki.
Franz takes the marketing reigns at Volkswagen against the backdrop of a market in flux. Demand for electric vehicles (EV) booming in markets including the U.S. and China, but it’s losing steam in Europe already. December 2023 data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (known by its French acronym ACEA) showed EV sales in the final month of 2023 declined for the first time since April 2020 by 16.9%.
Like its German rivals, BMW and Mercedes, the brand is scrambling to bolster sales amid extremely tough competition from Chinese car startups, which are offering competitive prices across the continent.
In November, Volkswagen’s chief executive (CEO) for its passenger business, Thomas Schäfer, told staff: “With many of our preexisting structures, processes and high costs, we are no longer competitive as the Volkswagen brand.” He has initiated a three-year a three-year mission to “restore core brand competitiveness” and future-proof the business as a result.
