Audi chief Markus Duesmann was fired by parent company Volkswagen Group on Thursday, with sources at the German carmaker saying projects that were delayed or not even implemented cost him his job.
Duesmann's successor, starting in September, will be Gernot Döllner, Audi said in a statement following a supervisory board meeting.
Audi, based in Bavaria and whose models include the iconic TT sports car, achieved record profits under Duesmann last year.
However, the carmaker remained cautious in its outlook for the current year and its profit margin is likely to fall, with Audi concerned about its electric car business in China - its largest market - where sales fell by 8% last year.
Audi sources said criticism that announced projects did not always come to fruition as intended meant the board no longer stood behind him after three years in the job.
Supervisory board sources said the feeling had grown that action needed to be taken.
Chairman Manfred Döss said Döllner "is now the right person to further sharpen the product strategy and positioning in the important markets for Audi."
He thanked Duesmann, who came to Audi after working for BMW "for his important achievements at Audi in recent years." In particular, he had advanced the carmaker's electric strategy.
But Audi has recently been lagging well behind its two German arch-rivals BMW and Mercedes. While BMW was able to increase its sales to 2.4 million cars in 2022 and Mercedes only suffered a minimal decline to just over 2 million, Audi's sales fell by almost 4% to just over 1.6 million cars.
Döllner studied mechanical engineering and joined Volkswagen in 1993. He previously worked at Porsche AG, where he held several management positions, including responsibility for the Panamera model series.
Since 2021, Döllner has been in charge of product and group strategy and the general secretariat at the Volkswagen Group.
Audi works council chairman Peter Mosch said of the change in management: "Strengthening Audi's role as an independent brand with entrepreneurial freedom within the guard rails of the VW Group will be of central importance."
Porsche SE, which is a separate entity to the luxury carmaker, is the major shareholder in the Volkswagen Group.
Its supervisory board chairman Wolfgang Porsche and his deputy Hans Michel Piëch said in a joint statement: "We know Dr. Döllner as a versatile manager who has successfully mastered various projects within the Volkswagen Group. We are convinced that as a team player he will implement Audi's product strategy at high speed."
The duo also thanked Duesmann for the realignment of Audi over the past three years and the continued switch to e-mobility.
