Skip to main content

Dr Harald Ludanek Named Head of Development at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles

  •  Hans-Joachim Rothenpieler heads quality assurance for Volkswagen Group

Hannover/Wolfsburg, 8 February 2016:  Dr Harald Ludanek (57) has been appointed new Board Member for Technical Development at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand in Hannover. He is currently Member of the Scania Executive Board and Executive Vice President, Head of Research and Development. Ludanek succeeds Hans-Joachim Rothenpieler (58), who will take over as Head of Quality Assurance in the Volkswagen Group from 15 February 2016.

Dr Eckhard Scholz, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand: “We are delighted to have gained another experienced expert for this division in Dr Harald Ludanek. He will be responsible for the continuing development of our brand, our models and hence for a coherent strategic approach to automotive issues of the future.These include electric mobility, autonomous driving and the intelligent networking of different means of transport.”

Dr Harald Ludanek (57) holds a PhD in mechanical engineering and has been with the Group since 1992. He began his professional career at Volkswagen researching special gear units and transmission technology. His functions included head of Group development coordination. Ludanek was Member of the Board of Directors for Technical Development at ŠKODA from 2002 to 2007. He subsequently assumed responsibility for total vehicle development and prototype construction at the Volkswagen brand. As Executive Board Member of Scania CVAB in Södertälje, he has headed research and development since 2012.

Ludanek succeeds Hans-Joachim Rothenpieler, who since July 2014 had been Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles responsible for the Development division.

Scholz thanked Rothenpieler on behalf of the Management Board for his work at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles: “Hans-Joachim Rothenpieler had an outstanding comprehension of how to position Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles with top-quality products. During his time as Head of Development both the sixth generation of the T series and the new Caddy with wide-ranging technical innovations were launched.”

Hans-Joachim Rothenpieler (58) holds a degree in mechanical engineering and joined the Group in 1986. From 1994 he held various senior management positions in development at the ŠKODA, Bentley and Volkswagen Passenger Cars brands. He was named head of quality assurance at Volkswagen AG in 2007 and appointed board of management spokesman and managing director for engineering at Volkswagen Sachsen GmbH in 2010. He has been Board Member for Technical Development at the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand since 2014.

The post Dr Harald Ludanek Named Head of Development at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/1SFREet
via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...

Watch: The Story of the Ads that Made VW Big in America

The ads for the original Beetle are almost as famous and well-loved as the Beetle itself. Looking back now it’s easy to forget, though, just how easily things could have wrong. A new short from Dial M Films tracks the history of those early Volkswagen ads that sold America on the people’s car. The story, of course, begins with the visionary agency that made the ads: Doyle Dane Bernach (DDB). As a popular agency for Jewish products, no agency was more aware of the implications of Volkswagen, and no one, it seems, was more skeptical of the brand than DDB. “Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?” from Dial M Films on Vimeo . William Bernbach, though, was adament that the firm take the client, probably as a way of attracting other lucrative automotive clients. Saddled with a client that he didn’t want, art director Helmut Krone says in the film that he originally came up with ads that were all wrong. Krone tried to do what other manufacturers did and was intent on selling the Beetle ...

Watch: The Zerouno Cruis’n USA

ItalDesign is drumming up excitement for its new supercar based around the same 5.2-liter Audi V10 that powers the R8. Naturally, it hit the road for a cruise around California last week to celebrate Monterey Car Week. There isn’t much in the way of V10 noise—which is a real shame given the sound it makes—but you do at least get a good look at the car inside and out in this video. With a body made entirely of carbon fiber and designed to be as aerodynamic and light as possible, ItalDesign figures that it will be good for a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds. “We put it our best skills into the production of the first car,” said Massimo Bovi, head of pre-series production, when the Zerouno was first unveiled in Geneva earlier this year. “Using some of the finest productions methods and engaging our high-skilled workers.” The car features clever aero tricks gleaned from single-seat racing, like a y-duct up front to improve downforce and turn-in. Available in a number of trim levels, the...