Former Opel boss Karl-Thomas Neumann joins the Californian electric mobility startup EVELOZCITY. As a member of the Supervisory Board, he will be responsible for mobility and the development of forward-looking mobility concepts.
In the last days there were several rumours about Karl-Thomas Neumann’s further career. Today the news came that the former Opel boss changed to the startup of the former BMW and Deutsche Bank board member Stefan Krause. Together with his former BMW colleague Ulrich Kranz, he founded the electric mobility startup EVELOZCITY. Ulrich Kranz had headed the BMW i project at Munich. He was thus responsible for the electric models i3 and i8 from Bavaria.
The two automotive managers are planning three versions of electric cars at EVELOZCITY in the coming years. A smaller electric car for the city, an electric transporter and an electrically powered vehicle for ride-railing.
Just last winter, the two top managers left the Chinese startup Faraday Future under great media hype. According to Faraday, Krause was dismissed and the two German managers claimed that they left on their own.
Ride-Hailing is a form of mobility that has attracted increased attention in recent years. City dwellers in particular can find and book a private ride through various app providers. App providers such as Lyft, UBER or the Chinese Didi also fall under this category. In the last few weeks, two other providers, ViaVan and door2door, have started passenger transport under the heading of Ride-Pooling. An algorithm calculates where urban car-sharing opportunities are needed. The provider promises a waiting time of three to five minutes.
According to EVELOZCITY, Neumann will be responsible for the development of networked vehicles and mobility concepts. In addition, he is responsible for customer experience, brand development and marketing, as well as for the European market. One of his top priorities is the development of blockchain networking for EVELOZCITY vehicles.
“What distinguishes the victorious automobile start-ups are the teams that lead them,” says Stefan Krause.
The company claims to be moving away from the traditional hierarchy and pursuing a modern management approach for faster and more precise decision-making. EVELOZCITY is managed by its four executives and does not use conventional job titles. The philosophy of EVELOZCITY is that innovation in the organisational approach leads to innovation in products and processes.
“The first vehicles will be on the market from 2021.”
EVELOZCITY is building a Californian automobile boutique brand. The local EV company plans to launch its first vehicle in 2021, followed by rapid deployment of the other variants.
Neumann itself brings more than 25 years of experience in the automotive industry. Before joining Opel, he held management positions including CEO of Volkswagen Group China and Chairman of the Board of Continental.
Only a few days ago we reported about his engagement as investor of the ride sharing provider door2door in Berlin. No doubt about it, Karl-Thomas Neumann is once again well represented in the global mobility scene. Unlike the takeover of Opel by Peugeot Citroen, however, he can now continue to actively work on his passion for ‘electric vehicles’.
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