Athlete Blume loves competition with BYD & Co.

Oliver Blume will not be part of the German delegation that will accompany Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on his visit to China in the coming days. That was “timeless,” said the 55-year-old on Thursday evening during his first appearance as CEO of the Volkswagen Group at the Hamburg Business Press Club, referring to another important trip outside the country. He had already arranged his stay in China a few weeks ago with Scholz, with whom there are frequent talks about the relationship between Germany and China.

A few days later, on Sunday next week, he will travel to China, adds Blume. Wolfsburg Investors has invited investors to a capital market day on April 24, shortly before the start of the Beijing International Motor Show (Auto China). The aim is to explain the course established over the past year and a half in the largest car market in the world, where the group wants to continue to occupy a significant position.

There are many concerns about how Western automakers will operate in China, says Blume. The VW Group is still the overall market leader with a share of around 14%. But people have a hard time with electricity – Blume puts the share in this segment at less than 5%. There are many new competitors in the market, and the rapid rise of electricity in China has been “somewhat neglected”.

According to the CEO, who has been in office since September 2022, VW wants to present plans and a completely revised product strategy adapted to the Chinese ecosystem at the Capital Markets Day. In China, for China, is the motto. This also means “China Speed”. Blume points to the group’s new and largest development center outside of Germany in eastern China’s Anhui province, which focuses on intelligent, fully connected electric vehicles and will employ 3,000 programmers by the end of this year and will play a key role in VW it is approaching.

According to the CEO, the group wants to keep the tier “dry” until the electronic car products “take off” in three years for combustion engines and hybrid models, for which there is a greater demand outside Tier 1 capitals.

In light of warnings that the German economy is too dependent on China, Blume refuses to “separate”. “That will not be possible for our entire economy because hundreds of thousands of jobs in Germany also depend on cooperation with China. VW will continue to invest in China, as shown by the additional 2.5 billion euros for the Anhui region.” However, one will pay close attention to the volume distribution which is proportional to other regions of the market.

VW’s boss is criticizing EU plans for punitive tariffs that could make cheap electric cars from Chinese manufacturers such as BYD more expensive in Europe. He is a “friend of world free trade” and advocates concluding more trade agreements. The goal must be to get justice in business relationships.

Competition is good, says Blume. “I’m an athlete myself, so it’s the same: If you have good competition, you’re bound to be better.” they reflect on your own abilities “We had a Japanese wave, we had a Korean wave, and we as the European car industry also held our own.”