Mobility – Porsche Consulting The Magazine

Vor dem „Railbot“ im Showroom von Hitachi Rail am Standort Ditzingen, nahe Stuttgart: In seiner Rolle als Vice President Markets Germany & Global Account Manager Deutsche Bahn, treibt Markus Fritz die Modernisierung des Schienenverkehrs in Deutschland voran.

Digital rail: Hitachi chooses Germany as a role model

In mid-2024, Hitachi Rail took over the Ground Transportation Systems (GTS) business unit from the Thales Group. Value: 1.66 billion euros. With the acquisition of the specialist for railroad signaling systems, the Japanese company has positioned itself at the forefront of the global mobility sector as a full-range supplier. The strategy: The most difficult market has priority.

10/2025

byHeiner von der Laden and Tanja Krupp

“The gap alignment mentality still prevails in Europe”

An interview with the mobility experts Professor Zheng Han and Professor Andreas Herrmann about the ability of the Chinese to adapt and the future of Europe’s automotive industry.

07/2025

byJan Boris Wintzenburg und Maren Scheyhing

Rail Passengers on
the Right Track

Not everything can happen all at once, especially with a system as complex as the railroads. However, important steps must be taken now in terms of digitalization to transform passenger transportation. Some great examples already exist.

06/2025

byMarc Zacherl

InnovationNew Culture in
the Bus Business

How the MAN bus plant in Ankara is generating a greater understanding of quality and costs.

06/2025

byChristian Buck

High Performance EnterpriseInvitation to the
Executive Suite

“You don’t have to know everything yourself. But you do have to know where to get that knowledge.” Albrecht Reimold places a premium on this principle. As Porsche AG’s Member of the Executive Board for Production and Logistics, he fosters intensive dialogue across hierarchies and generations.

04/2025

byHeiner von der Laden and Tanja Krupp

InnovationInnovations
That Excite Customers

Interview with Porsche Consulting Magazine: How Volkswagen Group Innovation Head Dr. Nikolai Ardey and his 500-strong team of specialists are fostering innovations and looking towards the future.

02/2025

byDr. Hagen Radowski and Jan Boris Wintzenburg

“Flexibility is the
key to success”

On the job for Jaguar Land Rover: Barbara Bergmeier, Executive Director of Industrial Operations, and Dr. Heiko Gierhardt, Director Material Fulfilment.

01/2025

byJan Boris Wintzenburg

SustainabilityThink Globally,
Act Locally

This Chief Sustainability Officer is taking a different course: slow down the talking and speed up the action. His approach builds on a strong framework for the values that guide responsible ideas and actions.

12/2024

byDr. Christian Heinrich

Clearing the
Track for Trains

Located in the center of Europe, Germany needs a strong transport network — nationally and internationally, for both passengers and freight. Trains form the backbone of this network. Yet without stable support, the rail system cannot withstand the pressures it has long been facing. Is there a solution?

11/2024

byJürgen Hoffmann

STRATEGIC TRANSFORMATIONEnhancing the
Value of E-Cars

What are customers really willing to pay for a new electric car? What services help to dispel reservations and smooth the way to the mobility of the future? Porsche Consulting investigated.

11/2024

byHeiner von der Laden

Aces in Our Hands

Oliver Blume and Eberhard Weiblen: an interview.

06/2024

byJan Boris Wintzenburg

Strategic TransformationThomas Schmall:
“Success Factor
Raw Materials”

Lithium, cobalt, and nickel are three substances that make electromobility possible — and that also create dependencies. Porsche Consulting Magazine asked Thomas Schmall, the member of the Group Board of Management responsible for Technology, how Volkswagen seeks to ensure supply and sustainability over the long term.

05/2024

byHeiner von der Laden

High Performance EnterpriseBrake or Accelerate

Have fleet operators miscalculated their electric vehicle numbers? A drop in demand and a slump in used-car prices are putting pressure on the car-leasing, rental, and sharing sector. Added value, experts say, could enable the sector to recharge its business and encourage customers to join the energy transition.

05/2024

byJürgen Hoffmann

Innovation“Small Steps Are Faster”

At home Hauke Stars writes programs with her children. For the fun of it. As a member of Volkswagen AG’s Management Board, she is advancing the Group’s digital transformation. “In agile cycles,” she says.

04/2024

byFederico Magno and Jan Boris Wintzenburg

Strategic TransformationSoftware, Chips, and
Batteries

Dr. Hagen Radowski, Senior Partner at the management consultancy Porsche Consulting, explains why software must come first in the electric car of the future. He is convinced that closer collaboration between carmakers and the semiconductor industry promises better end products.

12/2023

byHagen Radowski

InnovationThe Supply Chain —
Reimagined

When shortages arise in the supply chain, a domino chain of delays is triggered that can bring the entire industry to a halt. The automotive industry has therefore been developing the Catena-X data ecosystem to better prepare itself for crises of this type. Catena-X is also expected to lower costs, improve quality, ensure greater sustainability, and lead to new business models. Here, in Porsche Consulting Magazine, three experts explain what Catena-X does and how the ecosystem will soon also be benefiting many smaller companies and other sectors.

12/2023

byMarkus Ridder

High Performance EnterprisePutting the Brakes on
Car Wash Prices

Instilling enthusiasm in customers and employees alike is Richard Enning’s recipe for success. Always attuned to the times, this head of a medium-sized German business reacts promptly and fosters innovation with a sharp eye for detail.

10/2023

byHeiner von der Laden

InnovationThe Race for Solid-State Batteries

Solid-state batteries could reshuffle the deck on the market for electric vehicles. Whether this new generation of batteries can become a real game changer, however, depends on the success of its researchers and developers. Porsche Consulting analyzed the opportunities offered by the new technology.

07/2023

byMarkus Ridder

Strategic TransformationFraternity in
Frankfurt

The German airport operator Fraport and the Lufthansa Group are developing a shared vision for the future at Frankfurt Airport’s Terminal 1. Porsche Consulting’s support for the strategic transformation includes ideas and examples from other industries.

07/2023

byJürgen Hoffmann

SustainabilityLifting the Barriers
to Refueling

As the world gets back on track, many people in Germany and other countries take the train, especially on the commute to work and in metropolitan areas. One of the advantages is resource-saving, environmentally friendly mobility. The propulsion systems have an important part to play in this.

04/2023

byThomas Rietig

Strategic Transformation“Strong Finances
Are Paramount”

Interview with Dr. Arno Antlitz, Finance and Operations, Volkswagen AG Board of Management.

02/2023

byFederico Magno and Jan Boris Wintzenburg

InnovationA World of Cars
in One Subscription

The automotive industry is reinventing itself. As it must. And not only in terms of the drive. Customers want independence, more flexibility, and less capital commitment. Suppliers are responding.

12/2022

byJürgen Hoffmann

High Performance EnterpriseKaraoke Electrifies China’s Drivers

Volkswagen’s petrol cars remain very popular on the world’s largest automotive market. But the highest-grossing carmaker globally wants to rev up its sales of electric vehicles in China. Its third joint venture in the metropolis of Hefei is expected to play a key role in achieving this goal.

09/2022

byDr. Falk Hartig

InnovationA new and open
chip culture

The crisis in the semiconductor sector threw a wrench into the automotive industry’s plans for production and sales. How could this happen? And how can supplies be secured in the future?

08/2022

byGerald Scheffels

Strategic TransformationReinventing
the Wheel

Product engineering processes are undergoing profound change. Companies are having to manage ever greater levels of complexity and strategically rethink established development principles. A focus on systemic processes has already been applied to cars, enabling them to be developed and produced more efficiently and brought onto markets more rapidly. The basic principle is universal, however — and therefore applicable to other industries as well.

06/2022

byDetlev Brechtel

Strategic TransformationOperation
Powerhouse

Volkswagen is redefining the car, counting on electric drive systems. Thomas Schmall, member of the Volkswagen AG Board of Management responsible for Technology and CEO of Volkswagen Group Components, is leading the battery, charging infrastructure, and vehicle component activities and thereby mastering major parts of this challenge of the century — the strategic transformation of the world’s largest car manufacturer.

04/2022

byDetlev Brechtel

InnovationAir Taxis: Onward
and Upward

Start-ups seeking to launch aerial taxis have been attracting investors, and some are already on the stock market. Now the entire sector has to follow through — what is needed for these business models to fly?

03/2022

bySteffan Heuer

SustainabilityBusiness Flights: Short and Sweet

Smaller airports offering short flights and sustainable mobility for business travelers could soon be the winners in the aviation sector. As could small short-haul aircraft.

11/2021

byJürgen Hoffmann

Strategic TransformationRace to Space

Companies from different sectors are rushing to send satellites into space. Disruption and dynamism are the order of the day. “Space data as a service” is a key market trend that drives verticalization in the industry.

10/2021

byChristian Buck and Dr. Georg Heinecke

Strategic Transformation"Higher Performance on Demand"

Interview: How Volkswagen Board Member Klaus Zellmer expects to fulfill drivers’ wishes in the future.

06/2021

byHeiner von der Laden

Strategic TransformationFrom Gigafactory
to Giga-Business

Electric cars are only as good as their batteries — one of the most essential and expensive components. The producers of these batteries need to master the technologies and offer competitive prices if they are to succeed. The battery experts at Porsche Consulting know the means by which large numbers of the coveted energy storage devices can be produced — at half the price.

06/2021

byGerald Scheffels

Strategic TransformationProject “P”:
A Blank Slate
at Audi

Audi has completely reorganized its production work. One of the largest restructuring projects in Germany’s automotive industry was completed within a single year — and is already paying off.

09/2020

byPhilip Wesselhöft

SustainabilityHydrogen — Fuel of the Future?

Expectations are high and the technologies are proven — is the hydrogen economy about to take off? The players still need to network and to establish their business models.

09/2020

byGerald Scheffels

SustainabilityCharging Up the
Automotive Industry

The battery market for electric vehicles is going from strength to strength. But it is still characterized by a high level of uncertainty with significant swings in demand. LG Chem is managing this volatility at its giant plant in Poland.

09/2020

byJanet Anderson

Strategic TransformationMoving Forward
Mobility in Flux

Empty airports and train stations and the suspension of car production — the Covid-19 pandemic brought mobility to a halt in many parts of the world. The CEOs of leading mobility companies look to the future.

09/2020

byMaren Eitel

“Times like this produce dreams”

Interview: Porsche CEO Oliver Blume on social responsibility, focusing on essentials, and optimism.

09/2020

byMaren Eitel

Helping Managers Make Better Decisions

Interview: Dr. Tanja Becker, an entrepreneur and airline pilot, applies aviation methods to business — to enhance safety and decision-making.

09/2020

byHeiner von der Laden

Pivot
in the Skies

Few industries have been hit as hard by the coronavirus as aviation. Now is the time to develop ideas that will facilitate a rapid return when the crisis is over. Digitalization and sustainability will play an important role.

09/2020

byAlexander Stirn

High Performance EnterpriseNight Shift
on Track

The last passengers have hardly disembarked before nightly maintenance work on the fleet of ICE trains begins. A precise timetable is important here too, as shown by a visit to Deutsche Bahn’s newest maintenance depot.

09/2020

byHeiner von der Laden