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Today is the time for Volkswagen’s small shareholders. At the annual general meeting, they all ask uncomfortable questions about the corporate strategy. However, they cannot achieve much at the shareholders’ meeting.
The small shareholders of VW are particularly concerned about two issues this year: the difficult Chinese car market and the diesel scandal that has not yet been overcome. The expulsion of top management at the software subsidiary Cariad also raises many questions among investors.
China business as “dance on the volcano”
Many VW investors see business in China as one of the biggest risk factors. The Wolfsburg car group is heavily dependent on Chinese customers, but deliveries there have recently declined. When it comes to electric cars in particular, Volkswagen is now being overtaken by local manufacturers who are better suited to customers’ tastes. VW wants to catch up and is investing around one billion euros in a development center for connected vehicles.
Against the background of the smoldering conflict with Taiwan, however, the China business is a “dance on the volcano,” says Marc Liebscher from the Protection Association of Investors (SdK). If there were a crisis and sanctions against China, the sales market could collapse and investments in China could no longer be safe.
What does Stadler’s confession mean for the group?
The announced confession by ex-Audi boss Rupert Stadler in the diesel scandal is also driving VW shareholders. In the Munich criminal trial about the exhaust gas fraud in diesel cars, the former manager wants to confess comprehensively in the coming week. Investor associations such as the German Association for the Protection of Securities (DSW) are wondering what this means for other ongoing processes related to the diesel scandal.
If it is proven for the first time that a member of the board knew about the fraud, Volkswagen will have a problem, says DSW President Ulrich Hocker. Other pending lawsuits, for example from shareholders, would then have to be reassessed. The investor association SdK criticizes that the complete clarification of diesel fraud is still missing even after years.
Lots of questions about sluggish software development
There should also be many questions about the software subsidiary Cariad at the general meeting on Wednesday. At the beginning of the week, VW CEO Oliver Blume took tough action: Because the development of the group’s own car software is running slowly, three out of four board members at Cariad have to vacate their posts.
Problems in the division had shaken the model planning of the coming years. In the future, Cariad will work tighter and more efficiently. It is crucial that VW competes with Tesla and the Chinese car manufacturers, says DSW President Hocker. “Volkswagen must come up with something quickly.”
80-year-old supervisory board Porsche wants to extend by five years
VW Supervisory Board member Wolfgang Porsche has two reasons to celebrate today: the leader of the Porsche family dynasty is 80 years old. At the VW general meeting, he also wants to be elected to the group’s supervisory board for another five years. Porsche is considered one of the most powerful men in the German auto industry. Among other things, he is chief controller at the sports car manufacturer Porsche and at the holding company Porsche SE, which owns the majority in the VW group.
The Protection Association of Investors (SdK) is critical of the occupation because of Porsche’s age and wants to vote against it. Traditionally, however, small investors have little chance of getting their positions through when voting at the VW general meeting. The investment company Porsche SE, the state of Lower Saxony and the state fund of Qatar together hold more than 90 percent of the voting rights in Volkswagen.