QuattroMan
11-23-2004, 01:41 PM
By Ralph Kisiel
Automotive News / November 22, 2004
DETROIT -- The president of Audi Japan will succeed Axel Mees as head of Audi of America Inc.Mees was fired last week for making critical remarks about the Volkswagen's luxury Phaeton sedan and former VW AG Chairman Ferdinand Piech. Johan de Nysschen, president of Audi Japan, will replace Mees, sources said.
An announcement is expected as early as today, Nov. 22.
De Nysschen, 44, already was scheduled to become COO of Audi of America on Jan. 1. He will be responsible for reversing this year's sales slide in the United States. Sales fell nearly 10 percent in the United States through October.
Mees, a former BMW executive, had been in the job only since March 1. An Audi AG spokesman said Mees was dismissed because he had no plan in place to reverse declining sales. But a VW spokesman in Wolfsburg, Germany, said Mees was fired solely because of his remarks.
In an interview published in the Nov. 15 issue of Automotive News, Mees said Volkswagen had "underestimated the weakness of their brand in the luxury segment." Piech, he said, "was an engineer, and he wanted to prove that he can build great cars, and he didn't look at the marketing aspect, the brand aspect."
Dealer Mike Sullivan of Audi Santa Monica in Santa Monica, Calif., said Mees was the hot topic among Audi dealers last week.
Mees was a good spokesman for the dealers, Sullivan said. "We're in an adversarial role most of the time with VW and Audi, so our spokesperson has to speak German and he has to be able to go across the body of water and be heard," he said.
"We need someone somewhat combative, which was probably one of the assets that I saw in Mees. He was kind of a bulldog."
Automotive News / November 22, 2004
DETROIT -- The president of Audi Japan will succeed Axel Mees as head of Audi of America Inc.Mees was fired last week for making critical remarks about the Volkswagen's luxury Phaeton sedan and former VW AG Chairman Ferdinand Piech. Johan de Nysschen, president of Audi Japan, will replace Mees, sources said.
An announcement is expected as early as today, Nov. 22.
De Nysschen, 44, already was scheduled to become COO of Audi of America on Jan. 1. He will be responsible for reversing this year's sales slide in the United States. Sales fell nearly 10 percent in the United States through October.
Mees, a former BMW executive, had been in the job only since March 1. An Audi AG spokesman said Mees was dismissed because he had no plan in place to reverse declining sales. But a VW spokesman in Wolfsburg, Germany, said Mees was fired solely because of his remarks.
In an interview published in the Nov. 15 issue of Automotive News, Mees said Volkswagen had "underestimated the weakness of their brand in the luxury segment." Piech, he said, "was an engineer, and he wanted to prove that he can build great cars, and he didn't look at the marketing aspect, the brand aspect."
Dealer Mike Sullivan of Audi Santa Monica in Santa Monica, Calif., said Mees was the hot topic among Audi dealers last week.
Mees was a good spokesman for the dealers, Sullivan said. "We're in an adversarial role most of the time with VW and Audi, so our spokesperson has to speak German and he has to be able to go across the body of water and be heard," he said.
"We need someone somewhat combative, which was probably one of the assets that I saw in Mees. He was kind of a bulldog."