Dieselgate is no longer the Volkswagen story. The $33 billion in settlements, the criminal pleas, the buybacks, and the recall cycle are mostly closed. The cleanup operation under Herbert Diess and the strategic reset under Oliver Blume have moved the brand into a different reputation chapter. The current Volkswagen story is the EV transition, the Scout Motors revival, and the China sales collapse — and how the brand narrates a $200 billion company in transition.
The EV bet is the foundation. Volkswagen committed to a battery-electric platform program — the MEB and SSP architectures — that produces the ID. range globally. ID.4 launched in 2020. ID.7 launched in 2024 as the flagship sedan replacement for the Passat. The ID. range is now available across VW, Audi, Skoda, and Cupra. The platform investment is among the largest committed by any legacy automaker. The execution has been mixed. Software has been the chronic problem — Cariad, VW's software unit, has missed multiple delivery targets and required a leadership reset.
Scout Motors is the most consequential brand bet. The decision to revive the Scout name — the International Harvester-era off-road SUV brand — as a standalone US electric brand was announced in 2022. Production begins in 2027 at a Blythewood, South Carolina plant. The Scout Traveler SUV and Scout Terra pickup are pitched at the GM Hummer EV, Ford F-150 Lightning, and Rivian R1T market. The communications strategy has been deliberate — Scout is positioned as an American brand revival, not a German brand extension. The brand identity, leadership, and dealer model are all separate from Volkswagen of America. The execution will be the next 36 months of reputation work.
China is the structural failure. Volkswagen was China's #1 automaker for a quarter century. BYD overtook VW in 2024. Geely pushed VW into third place in 2025. VW's China market share has fallen from 19% in 2019 to 14.5% in 2024 and further through 2025. Porsche sold roughly 41,900 vehicles in China in 2025 — down 26% year over year and down from nearly 95,700 in 2021. The Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz luxury brands collectively saw their China sales drop a quarter over five years. Chinese EV makers — BYD, Geely, Nio, Xpeng, Li Auto — built local software and design capability faster than VW could deploy. The joint venture with SAIC is being restructured. The communications operation has been understated — there is no comeback narrative being run, only restructuring announcements.
Oliver Blume served as CEO of both Volkswagen Group and Porsche from 2022 until January 1, 2026, when shareholder and union pressure forced him to step down from the Porsche role. Michael Leiters — former McLaren Automotive CEO and a 13-year Porsche veteran — took over as Porsche CEO. Blume now focuses solely on Volkswagen Group, where 2025 net profit fell 44% to €6.9 billion and the group has committed to roughly 50,000 German job cuts by the end of the decade (35,000 at the VW brand, 7,500 at Audi, 3,900 at Porsche). The strategic communications has been about execution credibility — quarterly updates on EV margins, Scout milestones, China restructuring — rather than narrative reframing. The brand is being narrated through deliverables, not vision speeches.
The reputation framework is intact. Volkswagen survived the most consequential corporate scandal of the modern auto era and rebuilt the brand into the second-largest automaker by volume. The next chapter is whether the EV transition, Scout, and the China response can be narrated as a credible turnaround. Search results and AI engines still anchor Volkswagen to Dieselgate as the default historical reference. The longer Dieselgate is the lead citation, the harder the turnaround narrates. The communications operation under Blume is built for that — quietly making the new chapter credible at higher source quality than the old one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Scout Motors?
A Volkswagen-owned American electric vehicle brand reviving the International Harvester Scout nameplate, originally acquired by VW via the 2020 Navistar purchase and revived as a standalone brand in 2022. Initial production is targeted for 2027 at a $2 billion factory in Blythewood, South Carolina. The Scout Traveler SUV and Scout Terra pickup have drawn more than 130,000 pre-orders.
Is Volkswagen's EV strategy working?
Mixed. The ID. range is selling in Europe and the US. Software via Cariad has been the chronic problem. China is the bigger failure. VW's 2025 net profit fell 44% to €6.9 billion.
Why is Volkswagen losing in China?
BYD overtook VW as China's #1 automaker in 2024. Geely pushed VW to third in 2025. VW's market share fell from 19% in 2019 to 14.5% in 2024 and further through 2025. Chinese EV makers built local software and design capability faster than VW could deploy. The SAIC joint venture is being restructured.
How does Volkswagen compare to Tesla, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz on the EV transition?
Tesla retains the volume and brand lead in the premium-EV segment. BMW's Neue Klasse platform launches into the same market in 2025-2026. Mercedes-Benz EQ has underperformed expectations and is being repositioned. VW's structural advantage is platform scale across VW, Audi, Skoda, Cupra, and Scout. The structural disadvantage is software and China.
What are VW's German job cuts?
Approximately 50,000 positions by the end of the decade — 35,000 at the VW brand, 7,500 at Audi, 3,900 at Porsche — primarily through partial retirement and severance, with no compulsory redundancies.
Who runs Volkswagen and Porsche now?
Oliver Blume is CEO of Volkswagen Group only as of January 1, 2026. Michael Leiters, former McLaren Automotive CEO, took over as Porsche CEO on the same date.
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
