Former Volkswagen Boss, Carl Hahn Dies At 96

Former Volkswagen Boss, Carl Hahn Dies At 96

A representative for the Carl and Marisa Hahn Foundation confirmed to AFP on Sunday that Carl Hahn, who oversaw the Volkswagen group during the 1980s when the German automaker was at its peak, had passed away.

Hahn died peacefully at his Wolfsburg home on Saturday morning at age 96, according to an article from Die Welt published late Saturday.

Hahn is recognized for directing significant reforms during his tenure as CEO of VW from 1982 to 1993, which helped propel the business to success on a global scale.

Under his direction, the company acquired Seat and Skoda and also started to grow in China, which is today its most significant market.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Hahn also took pains to ensure that Volkswagen expanded into East Germany and rebuilt the company’s Zwickau plant, which today makes electric cars.

“With his sense for opportunities, timing, and emerging markets, Hahn laid the foundations for Volkswagen’s success,” Die Welt said.

Hahn was born in 1926 to an industrialist family in Chemnitz.

Before starting his employment with Fiat in Italy, he studied economics in Germany, Switzerland, and Britain.

Prior to rejoining the German group as CEO, he first worked for Volkswagen in North America. He then finished a job at Continental in Hanover.