--- title: "VW of America Ousts CEO After Just Two Years. Now a Porsche Exec Is in Charge" description: "A sales slump in the U.S. and EV projections that haven't borne out left departing CEO Pablo Di Si in a tough spot." date: "2024-11-19" modified: "2024-11-19" authors: - name: "Nico DeMattia" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/nico-demattia" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/vw-of-america-ousts-ceo-after-just-two-years-now-a-porsche-exec-is-in-charge" categories: - "News" - "News by Brand" - "Volkswagen News" tags: - "Volkswagen" --- # VW of America Ousts CEO After Just Two Years. Now a Porsche Exec Is in Charge ![New Volkswagen of America CEO Kjell Gruner poses next to an I.D. Buzz.]() *Kjell Gruner, shown here, will replace Pablo Di Si as Volkswagen of America's new CEO. \Volkswagen of America\* It's been a tough year for the [Volkswagen]() Group. Globally, it's shutting down plants, losing market share, axing car models, and now tossing out a CEO. Volkswagen of America just announced that its CEO, Pablo Di Si, is out effective immediately after just two years at the post. Replacing him is Kjell Gruner, who will officially become CEO of Volkswagen of America on December 12. In the interim, Gerrit Spengler, the current chief human resources officer (CHRO) will assume the role until Gruner steps in next month. Gruner has spent 25 years in the industry, at several different brands. It seems VW wants his expertise with both legacy and upstart automakers. He's held management positions at Porsche AG, DaimlerChrysler, and Mercedes, and was even President and CEO of Porsche North America. As it happens, Gruner is returning to the Volkswagen Group from Rivian, where he was just the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). Not only does that give Gruner experience with [a new, electric upstart](), but it may also help develop the growing partnership between both [Volkswagen and Rivian](). "Kjell Gruner is an absolute expert for the US market," [said Gunnar Kilian](), VW AG Group Board Member for Human Resources. "He has over 25 years of experience in the automotive industry and extensive know-how in exploiting and expediting growth opportunities in North America. Volkswagen AG is indebted to his predecessor, Pablo Di Si. His outstanding commitment was of central importance in realigning our business in South America. He subsequently laid the foundation for the positive development of our North American strategy." ![]() **Scout Motors** Just last week, Rivian and Volkswagen [announced a joint venture]() to build shared "cutting-edge software and electronics architectures." VW invested $5 billion into the project, which will begin with software but could eventually take on battery modules and other EV hardware. Volkswagen is in a confusing spot right now and it's hard to see the best path forward from the outside. While the company is looking to shut down plants in Germany for the first time—not just one or two, but three—and its luxury arm [Audi is suffering a sales slump]() in the United States, it's also about to launch an electric SUV brand in [Scout](). Despite all of that, VW's U.S. business saw a 7% sales increase, year-over-year, through Q3 of 2024. And even though Audi's sales dropped 17% in Q3 of this year, the entire Volkswagen Group is still up 1.5% from last year. So it's started showing some signs of life, and perhaps gaining a bit of momentum back with American customers. *Got tips? Send 'em to tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Nico is a writer and reviewer from New Jersey who probably thinks he’s a lot funnier than he actually is. His love of cars began when he was just a kid playing Gran Turismo 3, grinding out enough race wins with a Mazda Miata to save up for an in-game RUF 911. That passion for small, lightweight sports cars drove his desire to learn more about the industry, get his hands on as many cars as he could, and bring those experiences to life on the page. He cut his teeth writing about BMWs, Volkswagens, and Audis, mostly, and has owned far too many of each. He’s on his fourth 3 Series sedan, but all of his old, cheap German cars have forced him to learn more about car maintenance than his mechanical capability can handle. Too many late nights have been spent scrambling to get a car running by morning so he could get to work. For some reason, he never seems to learn that old Bimmers probably aren’t the best daily drivers. But he loves more than just old German cars. He’ll gladly drive and discuss anything with four (or even three) wheels. Cars aren’t his only passions, though. Nico is also a big nerd and loves movies, video games, comic books, and cares far too much about the New York Giants. So don’t be surprised if you see football references or dumb, obscure movie quotes in any of his car reviews. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()