Volkswagen AG CEO Herbert Diess is stepping down as of Sept. 1, and Porsche CEO Oliver Blume will assume the position, the corporate introduced in a press launch on Friday. Diess may even go away his position as VW AG’s Chairman of the Group Board of Administration. Blume will stay CEO of Porsche and in addition tackle the VW AG Chairman position as properly.

The corporate’s Supervisory Board made the choice in a gathering on Friday.

Diess led the corporate by means of a turbulent time. He took over in 2018 from VW AG CEO Matthias Müller within the wake of the fallout from the 2015 Dieselgate scandal. He had beforehand served because the CEO of the Volkswagen passenger vehicles model within the VW Group’s 12-brand portfolio. Diess oversaw Volkswagen’s on-going transition to an electrical car lineup that started with the ID.4 crossover in 2020 and can proceed with the ID.Buzz in 2023, new electrical SUVs by 2026, and a complete of greater than 25 EVs by 2030.

“Throughout his tenure as Chairman of the Board of Administration of the Volkswagen Passenger Automobiles Model and as Chairman of the Group Board of Administration, Herbert Diess performed a key position in advancing the transformation of the corporate,” the corporate stated in a press release.

Blume joined the VW Group in 1994, and served in administration positions at Audi, Seat, and VW. He turned Porsche’s Chairman of the Board in 2015 and a member of VW Group’s board in 2018.

“Oliver Blume has confirmed his operational and strategic expertise in numerous positions inside the Group and in a number of manufacturers and has managed Porsche AG from a monetary, technological and cultural standpoint with nice success for seven years operating. From the Supervisory Board’s viewpoint, he’s now the fitting particular person to guide the Group and to additional improve its buyer focus and the positioning of its manufacturers and merchandise,” stated the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Hans Dieter Pötsch.

VW Group has expressed an curiosity in an IPO for Porsche, and Friday’s announcement acknowledged that Blume would proceed as Porsche’s Chairman of the Board within the occasion of an IPO.