In this week’s episode of ‘The Chiefs’, Monocle’s editorial director Tyler Brûlé joins the senior vice president of Audi brand, Henrik Wenders. They discuss the essence of “Made in Germany” and why brand consistency is key.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What is the true essence of made in Germany?
And in our globalized world, does it still count?
Head of Audi brand since last spring, Henrik Benders joins me for today's episode of the Chiefs to tell us exactly what her Gestalten Deutschland is and why it still matters.
After almost two decades at competitor BMW, followed by a short stint heading up the marketing strategy for Byton Ltd.
Across Asia, Wenders is no stranger to what it takes to communicate an automotive brand across diverse markets.
So now that he's returned to German soil and to Audi's HQ in Ingolstadt, how does he aim to steer this historic firm into the future?
In our conversation, Wenders highlights why the German value set is still a cut above the rest, and why brand consistency with a human centric approach is at the core of Audi's way forward.
Plus why physical retail and the showrooms will be keeping their doors wide open.
I'm Tyler Brule in Zurich and this is the Chiefs on Monocle 24.
Henrik, absolutely a delight to talk to you.
It's been a while and maybe we should start.
You've been out of Germany for a while, you've come back into this very exciting role at Audi, maybe just taking a step back from everything.
When you look at Made in Deutschland, Hergestelt in Deutschland, the whole essence of Made in Germany, does this still matter today?
Is there an essence or a sense that German design values German engineering?
Does it still matter?
From my point of view, it does.
And you know, sometimes it's quite healthy to leave its environment and to go somewhere else in order to look at your previous environment from a distance.
When I left Germany, of course, I was very excited to explore China, which was an amazing experience because China is important and I look very much forward to keep on working together with China, also to return to China.
But I have to tell you that my appreciation of Made in Germany and the entire value set behind it is something I'm really happy to explore and appreciate on a daily basis.
So the answer is yes, it is very important, especially in the business environment I'm working in.