Audi US boss fired.(News)(Brief Article)

Automotive News Europe, November, 2004 by Kiesel, Ralph

Byline: Ralph Kiesel

Axel Mees has been fired from his job as head of Audi of America after critical comments he made about the Volkswagen Phaeton upper-luxury sedan and former Volkswagen Chairman Ferdinand Piech, now chairman of the supervisory board.

He will be replaced by Johan de Nysschen, president of Audi Japan, sources say.

Mees, 53, told writers that the VW Phaeton was not selling because VW underestimated the weakness of the VW brand in the high-end market.

He also stated that Piech "was an engineer and he wanted to prove that he can build great cars, and he didn't look at the marketing aspect, the brand aspect."

An Audi AG spokesman said Mees was dismissed because he had no plan in place to reverse declining...

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