The Volkswagen Group said today that Kjell Gruner will be CEO of Volkswagen Group of America effective December 12. Gruner succeeds Pablo Di Si, “who has stepped down from his position on his own request.” It was a short two year stint for Di Si. Until Kjell Gruner* takes office, Gerrit Spengler, the chief human resources officer of Volkswagen Group of America, will perform the function of interim CEO. So car guy out, Human resources in.

Yes, that’s right Human Resources is running a car company. It’s just the latest example of the chaos at VW globally as three plants are shutting in Germany and VW and Audi models are being dumped, and its plans to sell Scout vehicles directly is legally under attack by dealers. During the first nine months of the year, 769,000 vehicles were delivered in North America, an increase of more than 7% compared to the previous year. In the main US market though, the Volkswagen Group grew by only 1.5%.

“Kjell Gruner is an absolute expert for the US market. He has over 25 years of experience in the automotive industry and extensive know-how in exploiting and expediting growth opportunities in North America. Volkswagen AG is indebted to his predecessor, Pablo Di Si. His outstanding commitment was of central importance in realigning our business in South America. He subsequently laid the foundation for the positive development of our North American strategy,” said Gunnar Kilian, Group Board Member for, ahem, Human Resources at Volkswagen AG ”