In a company statement sent to Fortune, Blume indicated the decision lay with each respective non-executive board of directors as to how long the current structure is considered advantageous.
“I really enjoy both roles and aim to fulfil each to 100 percent,” he said in the statement, “but it has been clear since the beginning that the dual role is not intended to last forever.”
Hendrik Schmidt, a corporate governance expert with fund manager DWS, pointed out Blume is the only CEO to run two companies listed on the blue chip DAX index at the same time—“a situation unique in the German corporate landscape.”
It has gone from being a market where profitable growth seemed limitless to one where the domestic competition is quickly replacing non-Chinese brands, especially among younger consumers.
While Blume’s Porsche enjoyed all-time high records in vehicle sales across four out of its five main global regions last year, the story was a very different one in China.
The brutal price competition across the industry now means the JVs have seen their proportionate operating income steadily shrink to just €1.74 billion last year versus €4.4 billion five years earlier, according to company accounts.
Blume’s answer has been a new groupwide strategy to match competitors, accelerating VW’s efforts to what he himself on Friday called “China speed”.
