AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)10/22 Report--

Jochen Sengpiehl, chief marketing officer of Volkswagen Group (China), was expelled from China because he smoked marijuana in Thailand, according to several media reports. It is reported that Sampier returned to Beijing from Thailand's Koh Samui Island on holiday two weeks ago and was later detained for more than 10 days after being found to contain marijuana in routine drug tests. He was later released on condition that he leave China. Soon after this incident was exposed, it aroused widespread concern and discussion in the industry.

It is understood that ‌ Thailand legalized marijuana in 2022, but due to regulatory confusion, the Thai government is seeking to adjust marijuana policy. It should be noted that although the local use of marijuana in Thailand is legal, it is strictly prohibited in China, so even in countries where marijuana is legal, the use of marijuana will face severe penalties once found in China.

Data show that Jochen Sengpiehl is an important figure in Volkswagen's marketing department, and its joining was once regarded as an important part of Volkswagen's strategic adjustment in the Chinese market. Reviewing his work experience, Sampier has successively worked in Hyundai, Daimler-Chrysler, Nissan, Volkswagen Group and other car companies. He has decades of working experience in the automotive field and can be regarded as a veteran in the automotive field. Among them, he became the global chief marketing officer of the Volkswagen brand in 2017, was forced to leave in 2020 because of serious allegations of racial discrimination in golf advertising, and then served as the chief marketing officer of Volkswagen Group (China) in the Chinese market. responsible for product strategy, product design, innovation management, product marketing and marketing. He has made great contributions to Volkswagen China and made an important contribution to the shaping of the brand image of Volkswagen. Among them, the famous advertising slogan "Das Auto" (car) comes from him. In addition, he also contributed to the flattening of the Volkswagen brand LOGO. In February 2023, Sampier transferred to the position of marketing director of Volkswagen Group (China).

According to the official website, Volkswagen Group, founded in 1938 and headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany, is the largest car company in Europe and one of the first foreign car companies to enter the Chinese car market. it owns Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Porsche and other well-known brands. However, the current development of Volkswagen in the Chinese market is not optimistic.

In the middle of last month, it was revealed that Volkswagen China would cut hundreds of employees in an effort to meet its goal of reducing global management costs by 20 per cent over the next three years. Volkswagen then responded that the move was part of its global efforts to reduce costs, but declined to specify the number of layoffs. On the 10th of this month, there were also media reports that Volkswagen's layoffs in China were still in progress, with nearly 100 layoffs, but mainly related to the imported car business, involving Volkswagen imported Automobile (China) sales Company (VGIC). In response, Volkswagen China responded: "this is part of its global efforts to reduce costs, and the company is continuing to improve the efficiency and optimize costs of various departments and projects. According to the actual situation, the relevant measures also involve direct labor costs and indirect labor costs, including administrative expenses, travel expenses and training costs."

Volkswagen Group's cumulative global sales in the first three quarters of this year were 6.5243 million vehicles, down 2.8 per cent from a year earlier, according to the latest figures. Of this total, Volkswagen brand passenger car sales totaled 3.3968 million, down 2.5 per cent from a year earlier. In the market segment, at present, the Chinese market is still the largest single market in the world for Volkswagen, but sales face severe challenges. In the first three quarters of this year, cumulative sales fell 10.2% to 2.0566 million vehicles compared with the same period last year, accounting for 31.5% of the total global sales. But the market is the market with the largest decline in sales, which is one of the key reasons for the decline in Volkswagen Group's global sales.

The decline in Volkswagen's sales in China highlights the severe challenges it is facing, especially under the background of its own brands accelerating the erosion of the joint venture brand market and the extreme inward volume of the "price war". Volkswagen Group, as one of the established car companies in the world, not only faces a difficult period of electrification transformation, but also faces external shocks including Tesla and China's new energy vehicles. At present, Volkswagen Group is in a critical period of electric transformation, but there is not much time left for Volkswagen Group to "transform".

Finally, back to the topic of deportation of Volkswagen's chief marketing officer in China, although this incident is a personal behavior, but as the core of the brand, its behavior will more or less affect the development of the brand. As of press time, Volkswagen Chinese officials have not responded to the incident. It is reported that Sampier has returned to Germany, but it is not clear whether he will continue to work at Volkswagen in the future.

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat