German Dealers Victorious , Opel Surrenders

Opel sales chief Matthias Seidl

The rebellion of German Opel dealers against a new, complicated and – in the dealers’ views – disastrous distribution system was victorious. Opel’s sales chief Matthias Seidl withdrew the discredited and disdained design. “Dealers succeeded with their demands for a simpler system,” writes Automobilwoche [sub].

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Opel's Dealers Man The Barricades

Opel’s new CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann isn’t officially CEO yet, and he already is facing a rebellion of his troops. Opel dealers threaten to discontinue the brand if Opel won’t withdraw a new distribution system. The dealers say the system comes from where Neumann and Opel’s sales chief Matthias Seidl come from: From Volkswagen.

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Not Really New: Opel Gets A New Man

Not to anyone’s huge surprise, the Opel Supervisory Board today confirmed former Volkswagen exec Karl-Thomas Neumann as CEO of Opel. To make the job a little more interesting, “General Motors appointed Dr. Neumann president of GM Europe and GM vice president,” as a GM communique says. It continues that Neumann “will become a member of GM’s Executive Committee and is expected to play a key role in the global leadership of GM.”

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GM's Interim-Opel-Opera: Fringe Theater In Rsselheim - FREE: Bonus Short Course In German Management Speak

Industrial-strength theater

Yesterday evening, while yours truly was in seedy Tokyo bars, rubbing shoulders and more with paid informants, word reached us that Opel’s new sales chief Alfred Rieck allegedly threw-in the towel and left Opel in disgust, after only seven months of valiantly trying to move the damaged goods called Opel cars. After a few phone calls to Germany this morning, a different story emerged. Siehe unten.

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Documents Reveal: Neumann DOES Look Like An Ostrich
Separated at birth We are in receipt of complaints that question our assertion that former Volkswagen executive and future Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann &ldqu…
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Opel To Get Ostrich As CEO

GM’s troubled European daughter Opel finally will get a more permanent CEO. As rumored since last year, it is the former Volkswagen manager Karl-Thomas Neumann. German Automobilwoche [sub] expects Neumann to be confirmed by Opel’s supervisory board on January 31.

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German Media: Opel Snags New CEO. He Looks Like An Ostrich

After a rash of interim-CEOs, Opel may have found a more permanent one. It’s the former Volkswagen manager Karl-Thomas Neumann. The successful recruitment was first published by Financial Times Deutschland, the report was quickly confirmed by wire services and major German newspapers.

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Volkswagen's New Emperor Of China. And His Electric Dreams

Karl-Thomas Neumann, Volkswagen’s new Emperor of China, took over his job today. He replaces Winfried Vahland, who now runs Volkswagen’s Skoda division. Neumann has a problem many would like to have. “We can’t build enough cars to meet the demand in China,” Neumann told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung. Now, if you have nothing to sell, you lose market share, and you really have a problem. Neumann will build. he will build new factories, and …

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