Volkswagen is replacing its North American chief after less than two years as U.S. tariffs cost the automaker about 5 billion euros a year and Audi sales slide. Veteran executive Marco Schubert, Audi's global sales chief, takes over Oct. 1 with a mandate to reverse the group's flagging U.S. performance.
Volkswagen is betting a veteran sales executive can arrest a slide in its most important growth market, naming Audi's global sales chief Marco Schubert to run North America as U.S. tariffs drain about 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) a year from the group. Schubert replaces Kjell Gruner, who is leaving the company after less than two years in the role, and reports directly to Chief Executive Oliver Blume starting Oct. 1.
"The appointment reflects Volkswagen's determination to rebuild momentum in North America, a market where the group has repeatedly fallen short of its own targets," Blume said in a statement announcing the change.
The leadership shuffle comes as Volkswagen's U.S. strategy faces a triple bind: tariffs on vehicles imported from Mexico and other markets, a product lineup that dealers say lacks the hybrids American buyers want, and a direct-sales dispute over its Scout Motors brand that has drawn lawsuits from franchise dealers in Virginia, Colorado, Florida and California. Volkswagen brand sales rose 2.3 percent in the first half of 2026 to 162,961 units, helped by a 24.9 percent jump in the second quarter, but Audi's U.S. deliveries fell 14 percent in 2024 and another 16 percent in 2025. The group has pursued a 10 percent U.S. market share target at various points without reaching it, according to a Reuters report.
Schubert inherits a product cadence that could reshape Volkswagen's U.S. fortunes. The redesigned 2027 Atlas debuts in October, followed by the Atlas Cross Sport, though higher-grade components will push up costs and squeeze per-vehicle profit. Volkswagen ended ID.4 production in Chattanooga in April and skipped the ID. Buzz for the 2026 model year as weak EV demand undercut its electric push, while the absence of traditional hybrids has frustrated dealers. The group is developing a U.S.-built pickup truck with a target launch before the end of the decade, a move into one of the industry's most profitable segments that would align its lineup more closely with American demand.
For investors, the stakes are measurable. Volkswagen's North American operations are central to a turnaround plan that leans on the U.S. to offset weakness in China and Europe, yet the group's 10 percent share goal has proved elusive for years. Audi, whose recovery depends on redesigned models and the new three-row Q9 crossover starting at $89,095, is counting on Schubert's sales background to lift both brands. The frequent turnover at the top of Volkswagen's U.S. business — Gruner's exit comes in under two years — raises questions about whether the latest appointment can outlast the structural pressures of tariffs, product gaps and dealer friction that have defined the market for the group.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
