Volvo Cars Hill Country dealership in Austin, Texas.
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Swedish carmaker Volvo Cars announced on Wednesday that Deputy Chief Executive Björn Annwall will step down from his current role as part of a management reshuffle aimed at making the organization more streamlined and collaborative.
Not long ago, Volvo Cars abandoned its immediate goal of selling only electric vehicles (EVs), citing the need to be “pragmatic and flexible.”
The auto industry currently faces a series of challenges on its path to full electrification, including a lack of affordable models, a slower-than-expected rollout of charging stations and the impact of European tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan said: “In a rapidly changing world, we need to ensure that our organization is equipped to respond to more challenging markets.” explain in a written statement.
He added: “We are now reorganizing our commercial leadership team with a focus on making Volvo Cars even stronger by increasing speed and efficiency.”
The company said Anver, who currently serves as chief commercial officer and deputy chief executive of Volvo Cars, will step down soon to support a restructuring of the company before leaving the company.
Some other leadership changes announced by Volvo Cars include plans for Arek Nowinski to serve as the company’s president of international markets and Gretchen Saegh-Fleming to head customer experience and marketing , Oscar Bertilsson Olsborg serves as global head of commercial operations.
Volvo Cars said it is taking these measures to respond to challenges facing the automotive industry, such as geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, market sentiment, rapid technological change and supply chain headwinds.
Electrification ambitions
Volvo Cars, owned by China’s Geely Holding, scrapped plans to sell only electric vehicles in 2030 in early September.
The company was one of the first legacy automakers to commit to a full switch to electric vehicles, saying at the time that it still intended to become an all-electric automaker in the long term.
The move means Volvo Cars is following the lead of other industry players in scaling back its electric vehicle ambitions. german car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz Group and Volkswagen have previously announced changes to their electric vehicle strategies.
Volvo Cars said last month that a slower-than-expected rollout of charging infrastructure, the removal of government incentives in some markets and recent EV tariffs in various markets had created additional uncertainty, underscoring the challenges facing its electrification ambitions. challenge.
Volvo Cars said the developments showed that “stronger and more stable government policies” were still needed to support the transition away from fossil fuels.
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