After some weeks of speculation following the departure of former MD Simon Elliot, Volkswagen Group Ireland has announced who its new boss is going to be.
And the answer to the question on all motor industry lips is Lars Himmer. Mr Himmer, from Denmark, will take up the reigns at VW Ireland effective in January. He currently works for VW in Germany where he's head of group sales strategy.
His previous automotive experience included CEO roles for Eastern Europe and for Russia/CIS with MAN Truck & Bus, and prior to joining the Volkswagen Group he was managing director with Volvo Trucks in the Balkans and Latvia. Before that he was deputy MD of Volvo Trucks in Russia.
Mr Himmer has previously been an officer in the Danish army and was also for a time a member of Denmark's diplomatic corps. He holds an MBA and has previously studied in England, Switzerland and, of course, his native Denmark.
“I am delighted to be coming to Ireland at an exciting time for the Irish car market,” he said. “It is evident that there has been a lot of hard work done up until now through a challenging period, but I hope, together with the brand teams, we can enhance Volkswagen’s market position even further and continue strong growth in 2015 and beyond. I am also particularly looking forward to settling in Ireland in the New Year.”
His appointment comes at a key time – Volkswagen holds the top spot in car sales in Ireland, both in terms of brand and model (the Golf is Ireland's best-selling car). In fact, taking the combined sales of VW's four main car brands – VW, Audi, Seat and Skoda – the company holds a massive 26 per cent share of the Irish car market.
Maintaining that leading position will be no easy task, however. Traditional Irish best-sellers Ford and Toyota have also just had changes of management at the top and will both be gunning to wrest the crown from VW's grasp, especially as the market for new cars is likely to top 110,000 units next year, and may even climb above 120,000.
Mr Elliot presided over the growth of Volkswagen from fourth best-selling brand to the number one spot, before departing this year to head up MAN trucks in the UK.
