Jochem Heizmann interview

Q: The cooperation between Volkswagen Import and Shanghai Volkswagen has left some dealers unhappy. I don’t know whether you’ve heard of this yet. But, can you tell us how you’d cope with it?

Heizmann: Some Shanghai Volkswagen dealers sell Volkswagen Import products in third and fourth-tier cities because they have no Volkswagen Import dealers. There were some problems at the beginning of this cooperation, but it’s already been solved.

Q: I think Volkswagen products have real customer recognition, but after-sales service has seen no progress compared with its rivals, which have ranked higher in surveys. Does Volkswagen think about how to address this issue?

Heizmann: Volkswagen always has customer satisfaction in first place, including satisfaction with after-sales services. From the information I have, most of our customers are happy with our services. But, there is of course room for improvement. We do regular, systematic evaluations of dealer’s after-sales services and I personally visit some dealers sometimes. We have clear goals for after-sales service and have done field research to understand the problems and customer demand and find solutions.

Q: There’s a lot of discussion on increasing the share, and that it’s only a matter of time before reaching a consensus, maybe eight or 10 years. I’d like to know if Volkswagen has prepared itself for this?

Heizmann: We completely agree with the Chinese government’s reform and opening up moves because they will help the competitiveness of China’s economy. We have two excellent partners in Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen and the partnership has been a success. We’re now discussing how to incorporate new projects in the partnership to renew our relations and achievement more.

Q: Some people say your tenure in China ends in September. I’d like to know if you’ll keep the position?

Heizmann: That’s not true. There’s no timetable for my time in China yet.

Q: Has Volkswagen solved the battery and electric control system for its e-vehicles for 2016? We know Shanghai Volkswagen has done key parts development. If you cooperate with Shanghai Volkswagen, what system will you use?

Heizmann: We will rely on our own R&D strengths and e-vehicle modularized tools to develop our own core parts. The battery system will also be produced in China in the future. And, we’ll join hands with the Chinese supplier in research.

Q: Volkswagen outperformed its competitors in overall sales last year. What does this mean for the company? And Volkswagen has entered a new development stage in China. What’s the key idea?

Heizmann: We’ve been ahead of our competitors in passenger car sales for many years, and the passenger car is our main focus in the China market. The key word in the new phase is planning and we hope we can better understand Chinese market and consumer trends. For example, how will the two-child family policy influence the car industry and what does it mean for the company. We also want to learn more about the development of big cities and small ones that are home to, say, 1 million people, and China’s fuel consumption standards, and commercial vehicle and heavy truck development. What trends will China see in mobile Internet technology for the car? All of these are complicated questions and once we understand them, we’ll need to consider how Volkswagen should respond.