Volkswagen had selected a company veteran to oversee a new user-experience division as the auto maker aims to step up customer engagement while navigating sweeping changes in the sector.
Markus Kleimann, Volkswagen’s first chief experience officer, will be responsible for the management and development of the company’s customer interfaces. He will lead a brand new team to work across Volkswagen’s divisions and markets, the company have announced.
Dr. Kleimann, who holds a Ph.D. in engineering, used to work as head of Volkswagen’s series of mid- and full-size cars.
The new unit will work on improving customers’ experience anywhere they interact with Volkswagen, for example, in developing tools to let consumers customise and buy a car online or make it easier to charge an electric vehicle or even improve the experience of calling a service hotline.
More automotive companies are investing in experience, in part because they are interacting with customers much more than they did before, said
The creation of the new team at Volkswagen is part of the company’s ‘Accelerate’ brand strategy and was announced by Chief Executive Officer Ralf Brandstätter in March.
The goal of the plan is to transform the company from a vehicle manufacturer into a what it calls a software-driven mobility provider.
It envisions a faster shift to manufacturing electric vehicles, an investment in autonomous driving technologies, a simpler vehicle portfolio, and the creation of new revenue streams such as electric charging and energy services.
Volkswagen’s announcement follows that of General Motors, which recently hired Mastercard’s chief experience officer, Donald Chesnut, as its own.
