Alexander Hitzinger, previously senior director of hardware engineering at Apple in the USA, has become the new member of the board of management for technical development at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. In this role he will also be in charge of establishing and managing the ‘Centre for autonomous driving and MaaS’ (Mobility-as-a-Service) activities within the Volkswagen Group. The acting head of technical development to date, Axel Anders (57), is to take on new responsibilities within the VW Group.
Dr Thomas Sedran, chairman of the brand board of management at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said: “Within our new brand strategy, Hitzinger will be implementing our model campaign and forcefully promoting the expansion of our competencies in the fields of electric propulsion, software development and autonomous driving. Furthermore, he will have responsibility within the Group for the newly established Centre for Autonomous Driving and Mobility as a Service.”
Hitzinger (47) is a graduate engineer and also has an MBA. He started his professional career in 1997 as a development engineer with Toyota Motorsport in Germany. From 2000 to 2003, he managed the World Rally Car (WRC) development department with the UK engine manufacturer Cosworth, where he was in charge of the Formula 1 development department from 2003 to 2006. From 2006 to 2011, Hitzinger was head of advanced technologies at Red Bull Technology (UK).
From 2011 until 2016, Hitzinger then worked at Porsche for the Le Mans World Endurance Championship as technical director. In this function, he was responsible for the development of the 919 hybrid long-distance racing car. In 2016, Hitzinger moved to Apple.
