“Survive and advance,” Anu Goel said, as he shares how Volkswagen Group of America is turning turbulence into a logistics mandate

There’s a phrase Volkswagen Group of America's Anu Goel likes to use when describing the operational environment of the past two years. “WTF,” he explains to attendees at the Finished Vehicle Logistics North America 2026 conference in California, is “Why The Face?” – a nod to Modern Family’s Phil Dunphy, for those who follow the show. But behind the humour sits a question: how do you build an organisation – and a logistics network – that can absorb whatever comes next?

That question has been among the many challenges Goel has faced in his role as executive vice-president of group service and after sales at Volkswagen Group of America, and it also emerged as a common thread throughout the conference. From ships doing circles in the Atlantic to vehicles backlogged in Mexico, Goel laid out an account of where VW’s North American finished vehicle logistics network has been, what it has been through, and where the “survive and advance” imperative is now pointing.

Speaking again this year having delivered a keynote at FVL North America 2025, Goel returned acknowledging that the disruptions his organisation has faced since Covid have not eased, but have continued to build.

Building the regional foundation

Goel’s starting point was structural. Prior to Covid, Volkswagen Group brands – VW, Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti – each planned their logistics networks individually, by country. The result, as he described it, was a recipe for silos, duplicated cost and compromised service.

In response, the company created a North American Region (NAR) finished vehicle logistics organisation, bringing the US, Canada and Mexico together under a single planning framework while working to better align the region’s multiple brands. Reflecting on the rationale, Goel said that once the regional picture was clearly laid out, there was strong support for a more joined-up approach.

The impact of the new structure was tangible. A backlog of more than 50,000 vehicles in Mexico was cleared, wholesale volumes increased and inventory levels were reduced. “We make the structure change, you start making decisions on what’s best for the region, and performance improves,” said Goel.

He also noted that the transition was far from simple. Legal constraints meant direct reporting lines between Mexico and the US were difficult, while bringing several brands into a centralised model for finished vehicle wholesale operations required significant internal alignment.

“You have to get your organisations and your networks set up to handle whatever comes at you. Is your network able to handle uncertainty? What's the amount of time it takes you to adapt?” – Anu Goel, executive vice-president group service and after sales, Volkswagen Group of America

WTF moments: From bridge collapses to circling ships

With the structural foundation described, Goel moved through a catalogue of disruptions – “WTF moments” – that the network has had to absorb. Software holds, quality stops and the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse all featured. But he emphasised concern around the tariff volatility and its operational consequences.

When the Trump administration’s Liberation Day tariffs came into effect on April 2, Volkswagen Group of America faced the same immediate challenge as other importers: tariff rates are applied when a vessel unloads, not when cargo clears customs. With rates uncertain and subject to change, the company chose in some cases to keep vessels offshore rather than bring them into port.

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Goel said the move created wider disruption across the network, as delayed arrivals led to missed unloading windows and added pressure across already busy port operations.

He also pointed to the wider financial impact of tariffs on the automotive sector, noting that import-reliant brands can face a particularly heavy burden. For Volkswagen Group, this is especially significant for Audi, whose vehicles for the US market are sourced from overseas.

Tariffs have also created complexity in aftersales operations. Volkswagen manages around 410,000 service part numbers across the US for the VW and Audi brands, and calculating duties on components containing steel and aluminium has become increasingly difficult because detailed material-content data is not always available throughout the supply chain. As a result, some parts may attract tariffs based on their full declared value rather than only the relevant material content.

Separate geopolitical disruption has added further pressure. Volkswagen builds its Atlas family of vehicles in Chattanooga, Tennessee – and exports some of that production to the Middle East. Ongoing instability in the Strait of Hormuz has affected shipping routes, leaving some export units held at Brunswick and Jacksonville and adding to inventory pressure.

Goel said the situation has prompted closer coordination between logistics, production and sales teams, including discussions around adjusting output for affected markets. His broader message was that logistics teams need earlier involvement in commercial and production decisions so risks can be managed proactively rather than after disruption has already occurred.

AI, data and the limits of the black box

Much of the conference’s wider discussion touched on AI and data-led decision-making. In Goel’s view, the value of AI depends entirely on the quality of the data behind it, and in many areas that foundation still needs work.

For Goel, the opportunity in AI is less about automation for its own sake and more about enabling better decision-making through stronger visibility and more accurate information. “It’s about AI getting [the right] information so we can make better decisions. That’s where I’m focused now,” Goel said.

He cited tariffs as a practical example. If Volkswagen could access precise steel and aluminium content data for every component in its supply chain, it would be better placed to apply the correct duty rates rather than using more conservative estimates. However, obtaining that level of transparency across multiple supplier tiers remains difficult, particularly where commercially sensitive cost information is involved.

“Survive and advance”: Partnerships, flexibility, and the next phase

Framed against the NCAA basketball tournament – in which Goel’s alma mater had recently competed – he described Volkswagen’s current operating approach as one of “survive and advance”. The pressures facing the business are immediate: with logistics representing around 40% of the company’s total cost base, every decision is under scrutiny. But, he warned, the greater risk is cutting too deeply in the short term and weakening the capability needed when demand returns.

That framing led to his focus around partnerships. Volkswagen has contracted ships that, after delivering imported vehicles, often return to Europe with limited backhaul loads. Goel said the company is now examining whether those return sailings could carry vehicles for other manufacturers to help offset costs. Discussions, he noted, have already moved into practical implementation.

He also outlined a broader opportunity to widen the remit of finished vehicle logistics across the North American business. By bringing additional Volkswagen Group brands into scope, alongside container management and inbound logistics, the scale of spend and volume managed through a combined structure could increase significantly.

Asked by an audience member whether Volkswagen Group of America was considering an internal 4PL model to coordinate these synergies and improve cross-brand collaboration, Goel indicated that a range of structural options are being assessed, including a dedicated internal entity.

Throughout the session, Goel repeatedly returned to leadership culture as a critical enabler of performance – maintaining calm under pressure, encouraging transparency so issues are surfaced early, and being willing to act decisively in the short term to avoid greater cost later.

Resilience in motion: The next phase of vehicle logistics

Immediately following his keynote, Goel joined a panel discussion alongside Michael Rye, senior vice-president customer growth Americas at Wallenius Wilhelmsen, and Shay Sidnerl, automotive industry expert at Blue Yonder. The session built directly on the themes raised in Goel’s address, as the panellists explored what resilience means in practice – and how organisations can strengthen it while operating under intense cost pressure.

International flexibility, not redundancy

Rye opened with a distinction that shaped much of the discussion. Resilience, he argued, should not be confused with redundancy. Redundancy can add cost without improving adaptability. The real objective, he said, is “intentional flexibility” – creating optionality across ports, terminals, vehicle processing centres and transport hubs, supported by end-to-end data integration and the operational discipline to execute consistently.

Rye said the focus should be on building networks with multiple options available, enabling disruption to be contained rather than amplified when conditions change.

He also addressed volatility across global trade lanes. Concentrated disruption around China, he noted, was reshaping flows by constraining some routes while creating opportunities elsewhere, including in emerging South American markets. The challenge for logistics providers is maintaining reliability and cost transparency for customers during periods of pricing volatility, particularly when geopolitical events such as disruption in the Strait of Hormuz affect shipping markets.

On long-term capacity planning, Rye said that short-term uncertainty cannot be allowed to delay strategic investment. He said decisions on vessel capacity must be taken with a 20- to 30-year horizon in mind, warning that failing to invest now would only defer future constraints. He added that Wallenius Wilhelmsen has already committed $1.6 billion to 14 new vessel builds scheduled to enter service in 2026 alone.

Making the data work

Sidnerl focused on the foundations of better decision-making, ensuring that the vast amount of data generated across vehicle logistics is turned into timely, practical insight. She explained that Blue Yonder’s approach centres on a single platform that connects data from across the enterprise and wider partner networks, using AI to support faster and more coordinated planning decisions rather than isolated functional responses.

She highlighted a persistent challenge in the automotive sector, where manufacturing and finished vehicle logistics teams often work from separate data streams. The result can be decisions in one area that do not fully reflect the operational impact on the other. Sidnerl said the opportunity lies in linking those flows more effectively – using production data earlier to prepare yard capacity, group vehicles more efficiently, reduce dwell time and prioritise customer orders sooner in the process.

She also stressed the importance of scenario planning. In an environment where disruption signals often emerge gradually, organisations need the ability to model potential outcomes in advance and understand what actions they would take before events fully materialise.

People resilience

The panel’s closing exchanges turned to the resilience of the people behind the operation. Goel spoke about his approach to leadership under pressure, emphasising the importance of sharing context and decision-making rationale with teams rather than insulating them from challenges, and creating the space for them to develop solutions of their own. He said one of the most valuable lessons in his career came from a former manager who encouraged him to trust his team’s capabilities more fully.

Rye continued the theme, noting that while cross-skilling operational teams remains an ongoing focus at Wallenius Wilhelmsen, an equally important challenge is ensuring managers and leaders are equipped to use predictive data tools effectively. Without that capability, he suggested, even the best systems cannot deliver their full value.

Sidnerl added that the retirement of experienced employees presents a growing risk to organisational knowledge. Ensuring that expertise is transferred to the next generation – and captured in ways that can strengthen digital and AI-enabled tools – should be viewed as a strategic priority rather than solely a people function.

The panel ended, fittingly, noting that “resilient people” were as much a component of resilience in motion as any technology platform or network design – and that the industry’s ability to navigate what comes next will depend at least as much on its leaders and workforce as on its infrastructure.