Audi Announces Its Board of Management for Its New Chinese Venture

Audi AG and China FAW Corp Ltd have announced the management team for the electric vehicles production on the PPE platform (Premium Platform Electric) in Changchun, China, from 2024 onwards. 

Audi Neckarsulm’s plant manager Helmut Stettner will take on the role of chief executive officer from May 1. Stettner will be accompanied by Hendrik Adrian Wanger, Thomas Niewelt, Yu Qiutao, and Gao Kun. 

“The new company plays a key role in the implementation of our electrification strategy for the Chinese market. Today, through making appointments to the leading management functions, we are taking a further important step."

“With this team, we are extremely well prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the Chinese market and we are looking to the future with optimism,” said Audi AG chief executive officer Markus Duesmann.

Stettner has five years’ experience as a plant manager in Neckarsulm. He already took on the responsibility for establishing the new company in China on an acting basis in August 2020, and also managed this project with Audi’s Chinese partner FAW in addition to his duties in Neckarsulm. He was also the site and production manager at the joint venture FAW-Volkswagen in Changchun from 2011 to 2015. 

As for the management team, Wanger will move from Central America to China to take on the vice president for finance and commercials position, while Niewelt will be appointed as the vice president for procurement and IT. Concurrently, Yu will be the vice president for production and Gao will take on the vice president for human resources and organization position. 

The new cooperative enterprise, in which Audi has a majority holding and is currently being established. Several fully electric Audi models will be manufactured for the Chinese market based on the PPE platform from 2024 onwards.