(Yicai Global) March 27 -- Werner Eichhorn will take the reins from Gaby-Luise Wüst from April 1 as president of Audi China, with overall responsibility for the German carmaker's China business, the company told Yicai Global yesterday.

Eichhorn, aged 57, has worked for the Volkswagen Group since 1982. He has held various sales management positions at Audi since 1993 and was general manager of the sales department of FAW-Volkswagen Audi from 2005 to 2008, responsible for sales of the Audi marque in China.

He has been in charge of marketing, sales and after-sales service at Volkswagen Group of America since 2017.

Eichhorn completed the integration of the Audi brand's distribution network in the China, and its sales in the world's largest auto market rose from 58,000 in 2005 to 100,000 in 2007 during his tenure.

Wüst, will take on a new management position at Volkswagen. She previously held various senior positions in various international automobile companies and became responsible for Audi sales in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong in April 2018. She was appointed deputy executive president of sales and marketing of Audi China last year.

An early comer to the Chinese market, Audi reigned as Chinese luxury car champion for many years, but has been ousted by rivals in the past two years. Whether Eichhorn can steer Audi back to the top amid these shifting sands remains an open question.

The company plans to launch more than 20 new products in the Chinese market this year, including four new energy vehicles and 13 sports models. It will increase its localized models to 12 by 2022.

"We are paying more and more attention to the quality of sales in China, not their number, and to improve management of discounts. We no longer measure success solely by sales, but by customer satisfaction, dealer network quality, brand value and other comprehensive evaluations," Audi said.

Editor: Tang Shihua, Ben Armour