I'm not saying that working in digital media is some kind of picnic in 2024. Far from it, actually. But I am saying I'm glad I don't work at Volkswagen or Stellantis right now.
Europe's two largest carmakers are facing unprecedented headwinds this year. For Volkswagen, it's endless software problems, labor woes, an inability to compete with China's automakers on affordable and profitable EVs and the fact that its once-reliable Chinese presence has been almost completely devoured by the country's homegrown newcomers. Volkswagen may even close plants in Germany for the first time in its nearly 90-year history.
For Stellantis—a kind of cobbled-together entity that consists of the former Fiat Chrysler group and PSA Peugeot Citroën, all with no discernable company culture connecting any of them—the list of problems has overlap with Volkswagen's. But it's also dealing with a series of misfires with brands like Jeep and Ram; American as they may be, they drive almost half the company's revenue.
Read Article