Volt Chief Frank Weber To Depart GM for Senior Post at Opel
By John O'Dell November 2, 2009Automaker Says Departure Part of Long-Planned Shift of Duties; Volt Still on Schedule
GM is losing the longtime head of it's Chevrolet Volt extended-range, plug-in hybrid development team but says the departure of Frank Weber (left) to its German subsidiary, Opel, is part of a long-planned leadership shuffle.
Weber, 43, is returning to Opel, where he previously was a top product developer, after heading the Volt project since March 2007.
He is the second top member of GM's vehicle electrification team to depart in recent months.
Bob Kruse, executive director of vehicle engineering for hybrids, electric vehicles and batteries, left in September to start a consulting firm and was replaced by GM engineering veteran Micky Bly.
Doug Parks, chief engineer for GM's compact car programs in Europe, will replace Weber, who is returning to Opel Dec. 1 in a still undefined "senior leadership" post.
Weber's shift comes just as a post-bankruptcy GM, looking for cash and ways to refocus itself on its core products, is scheduled to close its deal to sell majority interest in Opel to a group headed by Canadian tier-one components manufacturer Magna International and backed by Russia's Sherbank.
Returning Weber to Opel is likely one of the one of the sweeteners GM has offered the prospective buyers, who will need experienced car-building talent in the leadership ranks. Opel is developing its own version of the Volt, slated to launch at the end of 2011- a year after the Volt hits showrooms in the U.S.
GM, however, says Weber always had planned to return to Opel once major development work on the Volt was completed and it entered its pre-production phase.
The automaker is holding a live Web chat at 4 p.m. Eastern time today (we'll be a co-host of the site, so check back) to discuss the Volt leadership change with fans and followers of the program to launch an electric-drive hybrid with a gasoline engine-generator and up to 40 miles of all-electric range.
Production of the Volt remains on schedule, GM says, and is expected to begin by November or December 2010, a year after Weber's departure.
At Opel, where he formerly was a top product development engineer, Weber's new role will involve global product development. It likely will require close liaison with GM as the companies presently share a number of platforms.
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