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A Volkswagen ID.3 electric vehicle in Bratislava, Slovakia. 

A Volkswagen ID.3 electric vehicle in Bratislava, Slovakia. 

Photographer: Michaela Nagyidaiova/Bloomberg
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Hyperdrive

Porsche Boss Faces Software Woes Keeping VW a Step Behind Tesla

Herbert Diess tried to match the electric-car maker’s tech prowess. New CEO Oliver Blume now has more chasing to do.

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Herbert Diess’s master plan for beating Tesla Inc. hinged on replacing calloused factory hands with the nimble fingertips of 10,000 software workers who would transform Volkswagen AG into a tech player.

Instead, after two years of VW electric car customers angrily stabbing at screens and board members at the world’s second-largest automaker pointing fingers, Diess has been forced out. Porsche boss Oliver Blume, who starts as VW chief executive officer today, is all car guy rather than software guru and got the gig by being a team player and pragmatist.

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