Automotive industry Former VW CEO Herbert Diess to retire
A good three years after his departure from the top of VW, Herbert Diess is actually retiring. He has no longer been at the helm of the Group since 2022, but was still the best-paid VW manager until the end.
23.10.2025, 05:07
SDA
His contract ends tomorrow, October 24 - Diess' 67th birthday - and he will receive his retirement pay from October 25, a VW spokesperson confirmed to the German news agency DPA. This marks the end of the long phase in which Diess continued to receive a Board of Management salary in the millions even after his dismissal.
Diess was most recently the best-paid manager in the Group: Including a pension and variable remuneration for several years, he received just under 11.2 million euros last year, according to the Group's annual report. This means he earned more than his successor Oliver Blume, who received a good 10.3 million euros.
This is not least due to Blume's salary waiver: the Group CEO had already waived five percent of his basic salary in 2024, along with the other active members of the Management Board, in order to participate in the savings program. This year and next year, it will be eleven percent. Former CEO Diess, on the other hand, did not receive a reduction.
Contract extension shortly before dismissal
Diess had to hand over the position of Group CEO to Blume in 2022, but remained on the Wolfsburg payroll. The reason: his contract had been extended again in 2021 - one year before he was replaced - and continued unperturbed until his 67th birthday, which he celebrates this Friday.
It was actually said at the time of Diess' dismissal that the former boss would continue to work as a consultant for the Group. Little of this was noticed. Instead, Diess joined the supervisory board of chip manufacturer Infineon in 2023 and took over as chairman. He is involved in several start-ups - and is often in Spain, where he runs a small hotel, including a cattle farm and pear plantation, as he said in the video podcast "Jung & Naiv" at the end of last year.
Software problems and a gruff management style
Born in Munich, he joined VW from BMW in 2015. He was promoted to Group CEO in 2018. After the diesel scandal came to light, Diess courageously set the Group on an electric course. He had a friendship with Tesla boss Elon Musk. However, Diess regularly clashed with his own works council over his gruff management style and engaged in power struggles with the powerful employee representatives in Wolfsburg.
The fact that he ultimately had to resign is mainly attributed to the problems at the software forge Cariad, which caused delays in model launches on several occasions. Many of Diess' decisions were corrected after his departure, above all the software strategy, according to which Cariad was to develop everything itself wherever possible. The design and naming of the electric cars were also corrected.
