e-tron

Make
Audi
Segment
SUV

"Meet the new boss, same as the old boss." The Who first sang those words back in 1971, but they might as well have been crooning today about Audi.

The automaker based in Ingolstadt has named Bram Schot as chairman of its board of management – German for "chief executive officer" – replacing... Bram Schot. Only where he has held the role in an interim capacity until now, he'll take it on permanently starting at the beginning of the new year. That'll put him in charge not only of the Audi brand itself, but of three Italian brands as well.

Though each has its own chief executives, Lamborghini, Ducati, and Italdesign also fall under its purview within the greater Volkswagen Group.

The Dutch executive has been with the group since 2011, when he left his post as head of Mercedes-Benz in Italy to take up responsibility for sales and marketing at Volkswagen's commercial-vehicles division. He's held the same role at Audi now since 2017, but was named interim chairman this past June when his boss Rupert Stadler was arrested for his role in the Dieselgate scandal. Schot will retain responsibility for sales and marketing until a suitable replacement can be found.

"With the appointment of a new Chairman of the Board of Management, we have laid important groundwork for Audi's future orientation" said VW group CEO and Audi supervisory board chairman Dr. Herbert Diess, to whom Schot will report directly. "As interim CEO, Bram Schot has already done a convincing job in recent months. He is pushing forward with the cultural change in his team and is effectively tackling the current challenges. With the benefit of a strong mandate, he will further accelerate the transformation of the company and lead the Four Rings to new successes."