Kjell Gruner takes over as head of VW Group of America; Henning Habicht to lead operations at Chattanooga

The new year sees a new management line up at Volkswagen Group of America (VWGoA), with Kjell Gruner replacing Pablo Di Si as president and CEO of the group, and as CEO of the Volkswagen brand in North America. Henning Habicht has also taken over as head of operations at VW Chattanooga, replacing Chris Glover. 

Kjell Gruner moves to VWGoA from Rivian Automotive where he was chief commercial officer and president of business growth. He has 25 years’ worth of experience in the automotive industry across a range of top carmakers, having held strategic management positions at Porsche, DaimlerChrysler and Mercedes-Benz Cars. In 2020 he became president and CEO of Porsche Cars North America, having moved there from Porsche in Germany, where he was global chief marketing officer.

Gunnar Kilian, group board member for human resources at Volkswagen, said Gruner was an expert in the US market with extensive know-how in exploiting and expediting growth opportunities in North America. “Volkswagen AG is indebted to his predecessor, Pablo Di Si,” said Kilian. “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.”

Meanwhile, Henning Habicht moves from his role as head of manufacturing at the Chattanooga plant, including for the VW Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport, and ID.4 vehicles. He will now widen that scope to oversee operations, which includes manufacturing and logistics, with Paulo Monteiro, head of logistics for VW Group of America Chattanooga reporting to him. Chris Glover, who held the role for the last three years, is retiring in January after more than three decades with Volkswagen. Prior to Chattanooga he served as the executive vice president and member of the Board of Management at Volkswagen de México, responsible for production and logistics.

Habicht has 30 years’ experience in the automotive industry and spent the last 15 in leadership roles at Volkswagen, including as the head of manufacturing at the Volkswagen SAIC plant in Shanghai, China, and as the head of manufacturing at Wolfsburg’s Plant 1 in Germany.

“Our ability to significantly increase vehicle production capacity in Chattanooga is a testament to the passion and commitment Chris has brought both to our thousands of local employees as well as the broader Chattanooga community,” said Dr Christian Vollmer, Board Member of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand responsible for Production and Logistics. “Henning’s extensive leadership background in global Volkswagen production facilities will greatly benefit our objectives at the plant and also build upon our deep commitment to the city of Chattanooga.”

Volkswagen increased deliveries of the VW brand in North America by 21.7% in the first three quarters of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. The carmaker said it has invested to expand regional production capacity over the past ten years, including battery production facilities, the development of specific vehicle architectures for the North American market, comprehensive research and development, vehicle assembly and component manufacturing.