Oskar Falk

Oskar is site manager for Volvos engine plant in Skövde. He has also been deeply responsible for the establishment of our first engine plant in China in Zhangjiakou. We talk about both struggles in this challenge but also what has been the success factories now when its running and produce engines both to our factories in Chengdu and in Daqing and soon also in Luqiao when Volvo will start producing the new XC40 in 2018.

A critical question for the future for a plant that produce combustion engines is of course what will happen when the amount of electrified cars will increase. Oskar is a optimistic and sees more opportunities then risks and maybe we will see electric engines in the future produced in Volvos engine plants. Welcome to an interesting talk.

I also want to thank you for all feedback during the year and look forward to a very exciting 2018 in the Garage with a lot of interesting visitors. Happy new Year!

Magnus

Thomas Ingenlath

Thomas is back in the Garage but not as Senior Vice president for Design at Volvo Cars but as CEO of the new car brand Polestar. Polestar has launched their first model #1, a beautiful performance coupe with impressing electric range as a plugin hybrid as well as a high end performance car. The media attention has been great and the interest in this new car brand with its natural connection to Volvo Cars is fantastic. We talk about Thomas new role as CEO and Polestar as a company that is a natural complement to Volvo Cars when it comes to positioning. Polestar has all the ingredients and the potential to compete with all he top competitors in the segments including Tesla. It will be exciting and thrilling to follow the future of Polestar. Welcome to the conversation.

Michael Fleiss

Michael came to Volvo from Bentley and Volkswagen six years ago and became soon Vice President for Volvo Cars Powertrain engineering. He started his automotive career in his father’s garage fixing neighbours cars, 10 years old and has since then been a true car enthusiast. Since not quite a year he entered a new era in his career as Vice President for Vehicle hardware.

We talk about the shift to electrification and what impact that could mean for his new area and for the whole industry. We also talk about leadership behaviour and what he brought from Volkswagen but also what he learnt at Volvo and what he appreciate from our working culture. For Michael knowledge and technology skill is an essential part of his leadership and that will not change dramatically in his organisation even when we introduce new way of working in product streams and with agile work processes. Management and Technology cannot be strict divided. Welcome to the conversation.