Volkswagen has begun the production of the ID4 EV in the US. However, it would have to do so without two EV executives who have left the company.
Matt Renna served as VW Group of America’s VP for e-mobility but took up the position of head of hardware at Nuro, an autonomous delivery startup, in March. He was followed on the way out by Dustin Krause, former director of e-mobility. Krause joined Redwood Material, a battery recycling startup, as senior director for automotive partnerships.
Both men are Tesla alumni and helped launch the Model 3. They switched to Volkswagen in 2018 as the company prepared to launch the ID4 in the U last year.
Renna said to Automotive News that he had a great time at Volkswagen, and there was no rancor surrounding his move. Krause told the media house that Redwood offered him a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
This is not the best time for Volkswagen to lose its top employees. The German auto giant assembled the first ID4 to leave the factory’s body shop at the recently expanded Chattanooga site. The car proceeded to the paint shop and the final assembly. Volkswagen had been making production runs for months, but the finished products were not meant for sale. Dealers in the US had to cope with small shipments from the company’s plant in Zwickau, Germany.
Volkswagen seeks to catch up with Tesla in the EV race for the top spot.
