Volkswagen Passenger Cars has created a board position responsible for its new digital car and services function.

In a sign of its new global strategy for 2020 onwards, it has appointed Christian Senger to the role, which also includes head of the function for the whole Volkswagen Group.

The new board function is tasked with bundling software activities and strengthening the digital overall experience through the customer-centric development of group brands.

Senger therefore holds responsibility for a Group-wide “software stack” spanning all vehicle domains and mobility services aimed at giving group-wide collaboration on software concepts and intelligent mobility concepts a powerful and future-proof foundation, said Volkswagen.

The carmaker aims to become an attractive employer for digital experts and a skills developer in this field.

Dr. Herbert Diess, Volkswagen chief executive, said: “The share of software in vehicles is surging, it accounts for an ever-growing proportion of total value added, and therefore has a significant impact on the performance and characteristics of our vehicles. That is why we are fundamentally strengthening software development at Volkswagen.”

Senger previously headed the Volkswagen brand’s e-Mobility Product Line; he took charge of setting up this line and was instrumental in driving the brand’s electric offensive forward.

He was responsible for the MEB, the modular electric toolkit, and for the vehicles belonging to the ID. family.

Prior to joining Volkswagen in 2016, the mechanical engineering graduate held several senior management roles at Continental and BMW.