Volkswagen has appointed Markus Kleimann, formerly responsible for the G3 series (mid- and full-size) vehicle models, as customer experience officer.
He will head a “newly created project unit [which] will serve as the interface to all relevant divisions and regions and establish a holistic user experience management system”, according to VW.
“Customer requirements and feedback will become the focal point for developing vehicles and services throughout the life cycle. The goal is to create a best-in-class customer experience at every point of contact with the brand.”
“As a result of the increasing digitalization of cars, new interfaces to our customers are being created inside and outside their vehicles. Now more than ever before, an integrated customer experience and the rapid implementation of customers’ requirements have become a key differentiating factor,” said VW brand CEO Ralf Brandstaetter. “Volkswagen is evolving into a customer-centric tech company.”
Kleimann has previously held positions such as chief development officer and head of strategy in South America and in countries such as China, where he drove the definition and development of market-specific products tailored to regional customer requirements such as the Virtus and Taigo in Brazil.
As customer experience officer, he will ensure that customers’ expectations and requirements are incorporated at all stages of product and service development.
“With our new unit, we are creating the framework that will enable us to incorporate customer requirements into our offering more quickly and consistently in the future. It is especially important to make our services intuitive to use, to integrate them into our customers’ lives and experience, and to forecast new developments,” said Kleimann.