Insight
Volaris Automotive: Year in Perspective
In June 2024, we were excited to officially announce the creation of Volaris Automotive—a venture that had been in development for a year before its public launch.
For several years, Volaris Group had expanded its acquisitions of auto-related software companies, and it became clear that a more specialized portfolio would enhance the strength of each individual business. This realization led to the establishment of Volaris Automotive in 2023.
Helming our new group would be Werner Leinauer, then CEO of incadea before transitioning to oversee Volaris Automotive.
Today, after a year of operation, we asked Werner to share his perspectives on Volaris Automotive.
With a year now passed, you are still just as passionate about Volaris Automotive. Why?
Werner Leinauer: Oh yes, I still believe it was the right strategy to go vertical. From an operational point of view, with our people in the several VBUs (Volaris Business Units) across the globe we have consolidated hundreds of years of experience and expertise in the automotive industry. With this knowledge base we can support any process step along the entire value chain from the manufacturer until the “service-only” provider globally.
What lessons have you learned in the past year as leader of Volaris Automotive?
WL: The major learning is that the cycle in the M&A world is longer than I have expected. It needs a long time to nurture prospects until they are ready to sign a Letter of Intent, which is the real major step to close a deal.
How has your personal vision for Volaris Automotive evolved over the past year, and what has influenced that evolution?
WL: In the beginning we were focused on DMS and automotive CRM providers only. Based on the fact that the automotive industry is changing dramatically the way cars/mobility are requested, offered, and sold and services are provided, we saw that this strategy was limiting our business potential heavily. We adjusted our business scope in the way that we integrated non-DMS and non-CRM providers into our focus (e.g. solution or APP providerfor financing or mobility sharing).
Are there any strengths of this group that you didn’t know existed a year ago?
WL: I learned all the people in our group are high level specialists and they know their business inside out. There are no better qualified people dealing in M&A around automotive like us.
How have companies within Volaris Automotive changed since the portfolio’s formation?
WL: The biggest change was that we opened the way to collaborate instead of competing. The different VBUs are not seeing each other as competitors anymore, they try to understand what can be taken from the others, and sold to the customers.
You oversee companies spanning multiple countries, languages and cultures. How have those differences benefitted the group in the past year?
WL: It is all about sharing of experience and knowledge. In different territories around the globe, you find different market requirements and different ways to respond to these requirements. The different solutions from the other regions are widening their own horizon, which is improving the offerings to the clients in terms of functionality and quality.
How do you maintain alignment and cohesion across Volaris Automotive’s diverse teams and leadership, especially given the varying challenges they face?
WL: WL: First, we build up a cascaded meeting culture beginning from Portfolio level down to each single VBU with a continuous exchange of what has been done best and worst, providing lessons learned. Second, alignment and cohesion are the major topics in the daily work of our Group Managers. They are acting as the connector between Portfolio and VBU, which maintains alignment throughout.
Today, Volaris Automotive is home to seven brands across the globe and continues to show no signs of slowing down.
