# Can Volkswagen Save Itself? | Wall Street Journal & Former BMW Executive Explain Why This Time Is Different | At The Wheel #27

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/at-the-wheel-podcast-w-tu-le-joe-white-7634964/can-volkswagen-save-itself-wall-street-journal-former-bmw-executive-explain-why-this-time-is-different-at-the-wheel-27
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/at-the-wheel-podcast-w-tu-le-joe-white-7634964/can-volkswagen-save-itself-wall-street-journal-former-bmw-executive-explain-why-this-time-is-different-at-the-wheel-27.md
Podcast: [At The Wheel Podcast w/ Tu Le & Joe White](https://stenobird.com/podcast/at-the-wheel-podcast-w-tu-le-joe-white-7634964)
Published: 2026-09-09T16:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.atthewheel.co/p/can-volkswagen-save-itself-wall-street
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/214801563/ae593611dbcddf0a94341443a4e1a41a.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/at-the-wheel-podcast-w-tu-le-joe-white-7634964/episodes/can-volkswagen-save-itself-wall-street-journal-former-bmw-executive-explain-why-this-time-is-different-at-the-wheel-27
Duration seconds: 4462

## Resource

Volkswagen has approved one of the largest restructurings in automotive history. The question isn’t whether it’s significant. The question is whether it came too late. In this special edition of At The Wheel , Tu Le is joined by Stephen Wilmot , automotive reporter for The Wall Street Journal , and Daniel Kirchert , former BMW executive, Byton co-founder, and CEO of Flynt, to unpack Volkswagen’s historic restructuring—and what it means for Europe’s automotive future. This isn’t just a discussion about Volkswagen. It’s a conversation about whether Europe’s automotive industry can remain globally competitive as Chinese automakers continue expanding at unprecedented speed. 🇨🇳 China’s Competitive Advantage Why did China’s automotive industry move so far ahead? The panel discusses: * Software-defined vehicles * AI and autonomous driving * Two-year product development cycles * Lower development costs * The rise of XPeng, BYD, Xiaomi and other Chinese brands 🇩🇪 Volkswagen’s Moment of Truth The discussion breaks down: * Factory closures * Workforce reductions * Product consolidation * Why China’s collapse in profitability changed everything * Whether Volkswagen can successfully reinvent itself 🚗 Can Legacy Automakers Change Fast Enough? Daniel Kirchert shares his experience building BMW China and co-founding Byton, explaining why traditional automotive development cultures struggle to compete with software-first organizations. Topics include: * Customer experience vs hardware * Why software alone isn’t enough * Organizational culture * Digital product development * The future of automotive engineering 🌍 What Comes Next? Can Europe remain competitive? Will partnerships with Chinese companies become essential? Can cost-cutting alone save legacy automakers? Or does the industry n…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/at-the-wheel-podcast-w-tu-le-joe-white-7634964/episodes/can-volkswagen-save-itself-wall-street-journal-former-bmw-executive-explain-why-this-time-is-different-at-the-wheel-27/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/at-the-wheel-podcast-w-tu-le-joe-white-7634964/can-volkswagen-save-itself-wall-street-journal-former-bmw-executive-explain-why-this-time-is-different-at-the-wheel-27.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.