After abruptly resigning on Friday after 19 years at Audi, former CEO Johan de Nysschen's future has come more clearly into focus today. Nissan has announced that de Nysschen will be joining the company effective July 1. His official title will be Senior Vice President of Nissan Motor Company in charge of the Infiniti division.
Nissan just opened a new global headquarters for its luxury brand in Hong Kong, where de Nysschen will be stationed. Its new boss will be expected to lead Infiniti's expansion in China, the brand's second largest market. Infiniti has said it intends to more than triple global sales to 500,000 by 2016.
De Nysschen is no stranger to lofty sales targets, as his former employers at Volkswagen have made no secret about their desire to become the largest carmaker on earth. To de Nysschen's credit, Audi had been recently holding its own, especially in China, where sales have been killing it, even besting BMW and Mercedes in April.
