Christoph Hohmann

  Europe’s carmakers are at a turning point — and so is European industry.   In my recent Financial Times OpEd, I argue that the challenges facing Volkswagen Group and other European OEMs go far beyond the industries’ transformation or trade-politics. They expose a deeper, long-standing issue: high cost and structural inefficiencies, making it even more challenging to adapt quickly to global competition. In fact, European carmaker‘s woes reflect an even deeper and tong term issue. The widening productivity gap between US and Europe‘s Economy with stark consequences.   For too long, we at Volkswagen believed growth could cover up inefficiencies. That belief is no longer tenable. At Volkswagen Group, we’re making tough but necessary changes — reducing overcapacity, increasing productivity both in terms of Labour and Capital, and we are accelerating investments in electrification, digitalization, and autonomous driving. One thing has become clear for us: investment alone is not enough.   What’s needed is structural reform — within companies and across Europe. That means: • Smarter, innovation-friendly regulation • More flexible labour markets • Strategic global partnerships • And a renewed focus on performance   And we need to demand more from ourselves. We know what made Europe strong in the first place. Now we need the courage to modernize those foundations. 📉 Without restructuring, even our best ideas risk and investments risk falling short 📈 With reform, Europe can once again lead — not just in R&D, but in scaling industrial innovation.   👉 Read the full article in the Financial Times https://lnkd.in/eVa-NEHK 👇 What do you think? What reforms do you believe are most urgent for Europe to remain competitive?   #automotive #Europe #Volkswagen #transformation

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At IAA MOBILITY 2025, MOIA and the Volkswagen Group showcase how autonomous, shared mobility is becoming reality, accompanied by exclusive interviews with Sascha Meyer, CEO MOIA, and Christian Senger, CEO Volkswagen Autonomous Mobility. The ID. Buzz AD demonstrates what Tech for the People means: smart, safe and sustainable mobility that is accessible to everyone. 🌍 Autonomous shared mobility helps reduce traffic and emissions, supporting our mission of sustainable mobility for all. 👥 As part of the Volkswagen Group, MOIA develops an autonomous turnkey solution that combines autonomous vehicles, software and services for implementation and enables cities, operators and mobility companies to integrate autonomous services into their transport system. 👉 Visit the Volkswagen Group stand to discover how we are shaping the future of mobility — from Europe, for Europe. #VolkswagenGroup #MOIA #AutonomousDriving #SharedRides #UrbanMobility #TechForThePeople

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Until Sunday, Munich will be the Mecca of the mobility industry, with the IAA MOBILITY and side events like ZUKUNFT NAHVERKEHR where visitors can experience the future of transportation. 🎤 I had the opportunity to moderate a panel at IAA Mobility titled "Better Safe Than Sorry – Financing the Future of Mobility". The discussion brought together Dr. Philipp Wackerbeck (Strategy&), Susan Sahl Poynor (Allianz Partners), Ronny Seidel (BNP Paribas Personal Finance) and Lawrence Hamilton (Lucid Motors) to explore how we fund innovation in mobility, and what risks and alliances shape that journey. 💡 While there was broad consensus on the importance of collaboration and long-term vision, it’s clear that the path forward is anything but straightforward. From shifting regulatory landscapes to the tension between profitability and sustainability, the panel not just gave answers, but also raised questions that have to be answered in the future. And perhaps that’s exactly what we need: 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀. Stepping off the stage and into the exhibition halls, one thing became abundantly clear: this year’s IAA is overwhelmingly focused on #electrification. EVs are no longer the future, they’re the present. And yet, the political statements made during the event stood in contrast. Both Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder emphasized the importance of “technology openness”. But walking through the booths, it was hard not to feel that the industry has already made its choice. Thanks to the panelists for their insights and to everyone who joined the conversation. The questions raised—on stage and off—deserve ongoing attention and discussions. #IAAMobility #Electrification #MobilityFinance #TechnologyOpenness #EVTransition #FutureOfTransport #MobilityPolitics #Regulation 

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I am just returning from the IAA MOBILITY Munich, where we were invited by our partners at AUDI AG to an evening event organised around their new car model. For AUDI AG this is not just a new release, this is a new beginning, the first expression of a new design philosophy, expressed as: Radical Simplicity, Clarity. To me, this feels just right. The car’s exterior design is very pure, reminescent of Audi’s roots but also very modern. But the boldest expression of AUDI AG’s new philosophy is inside the car. Instead of playing the race towards an ever larger screen in the cabin, AUDI AG decided to embed a rather small screen, which folds and disappears under the dashboard. From a positioning point of view, the focus on simplicity and clarity is exactly what I think we need. With the AI era, the value for OEMs, across industries, will not be in providing more content, but filtering content to optimize the cognitive load on the users. AI also gives the opportunity to provide much more naturally the exact information that the passenger needs at any moment, not more. This is also how Neural Concept envisions user experience. In our collaboration with AUDI AG, we hope that this software experience philosophy, into the hands of engineers, will then translate into the right experience for the consumer. Picture with Marwan Khiat who was lead designer on the interior of the car.

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