Two decades ago Oliver Blume did a PhD in Shanghai under the supervision of Wan Gang, who as China’s minister for science and technology later became the driving force behind the country’s electric vehicle revolution. Now Blume, chief executive of both Volkswagen and Porsche, must safeguard two of Germany’s biggest industrial names from the achievements of his former professor, which gave rise to Chinese EV industry champions from carmaker BYD to battery giant CATL.
When the Porsche CEO was handed the reins of its parent company in 2022, becoming the only person to head two Dax 40 companies simultaneously, Blume inherited Volkswagen’s halting attempt to build out EV software in Germany with its subsidiary Cariad.