Well, after much speculation following the departure of former MD Simon Elliot (who returned to the UK in September to head up the MAN Trucks operation there), Volkswagen Group Ireland has announced who will take over at the top of the firm in January. It's Lars Himmer, currently working at Volkswagen in Germany as Head of Group Sales Strategy.
Mr Himmer comes from Denmark, where he was previously an officer in the Danish army and also a member of Denmark's diplomatic corps. His previous automotive experience includes 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 and prior to that Deputy MD of Volvo Trucks in Russia. He's studied in the UK, Switzerland and Denmark and holds an MBA and an International Business Degree.
"I am delighted to be coming to Ireland at an exciting time for the Irish car market," said Lars Himmer on his appointment. "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 continue strong growth in 2015 and beyond. I am also particularly looking forward to settling in Ireland in the New Year."
Anything else?
Mr Himmer is joining Volkswagen Ireland at an auspicious time, but one not without its challenges. The Group currently sits as the top dog of the Irish car market with the best-selling brand (Volkswagen) and best-selling car (Golf) and a combined market share across its four car brands (Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda and SEAT) of 26 per cent (the van side, Volkswagen Commercials has 23 per cent of the LCV market). That's all well and good but key rivals Toyota, Ford, Nissan and Hyundai are all out for Volkswagen's trophy and are all preparing serious marketing and new model efforts for 2015, to meet the expected increased demand of a market expected to top 110,000 sales for the first time since 2008.
Welcome to Ireland Mr Himmer - you're coming in at a good time, but it won't be easy...