- The team wins: Almost half of the management positions at Aiways Automobile Europe GmbH are held by women. It’s not the quota that counts, but the suitability for the task.
- Social and emotional intelligence: Collaboration in a very global and multicultural environment generates creative ideas and ensures innovative solutions.
- Flat hierarchies and diverse tasks: The organizational structure and methods of the agile company ensure high attractiveness.
Shanghai/Munich, February 02, 2023 – The demands placed on modern managers have changed significantly in recent decades. New, more flexible working models and changes in employees’ values require a rethink – especially in management. Aiways Automobile Europe GmbH therefore focuses on flat hierarchies, teamwork and promotes creativity and innovative thinking. With almost half of its management positions held by women, the young company’s Munich Overseas Headquarters is well ahead of the industry.
In addition to regular duties, the new value systems include opportunities for development and further training. A good work-life balance and a working environment in which people can feel at home have become very important, and not just in the last two years. These requirements are often not or only inadequately reflected by traditional organizational structures in large companies. An often distanced relationship between managers and employees further exacerbates the integration problems for modern working models.
“At Aiways, the flat hierarchy and diverse team is the key to success,” explains Dr. Alexander Klose, Executive Vice President Overseas Operations at Aiways. “At management level alone, our four female colleagues put a clear exclamation mark. Social and emotional intelligence, in addition to technical aptitude, is the key to innovative and truly disruptive products. Especially in view of the challenges in the automotive sector, we have a big head start on the competition in this discipline.”
Collaboration in a diverse team drives creativity and innovation
For Nicole (Jingyuan) Chen, Head of Marketing at Aiways Europe, a traditional Chinese quote describes the team spirit at the Munich headquarters: “Whether it’s a white cat or a black cat, the cat that catches the mouse is a good cat.” Quotas don’t matter – personality and skills are important. Because the tasks for the future of the automobile are more complex than ever and require innovative solutions that can only be solved with a strong and competent team.
At the same time, the focus on customers’ core needs must never lose its importance. Aiways therefore acts as an alternative by making customers’ lives easier with both the Aiways U5 SUV and the Aiways U6 SUV-Coupé. Through their focus on people and creating a comfortable, intuitive and efficient driving experience, Aiways is setting the standard in an industry often characterized by over-complexity. Because that’s what Aiways was founded for: To shape a new era of mobility that puts the customer at the center.
A modern organizational structure ensures optimal effectiveness of employees
However, this new era of products is not made possible by a diverse team in Munich and Shanghai; above all, it is the modern and lean organizational structure that creates completely new opportunities. The flat hierarchies give employees the space to contribute all their experience to a project.
Nataliya Shvaykovska, Director Digital Transformation at Aiways, puts it this way: “What I really admire is that I can use and combine all the knowledge I have acquired. At Aiways, there is a wide spectrum to cover, from a very technical background in IT to digital connectivity topics. And that’s what I like here. Very few companies in the automotive industry function like that and this is why Aiways has a very special appeal: I don’t have to commit to one function, as is usually the case in large companies.”
Aiways has thus not only met the demands of the changing automotive industry, but also the changing values of its employees and the new ideals of an optimal working environment. You can find out more about the working methods and tasks of the female managers at Aiways in the “5+1” interview series of Ellectric magazine by Britta Reineke.
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Aiways contact for media inquiries
Bernd Abel, Aiways Automobile Europe GmbH
+49 (0) 89 693135269
Georgia Chapman, Aiways Automobile Europe GmbH
+49 (0) 89 693135278
About Aiways
Founded in 2017, Aiways is a Shanghai-based personal mobility provider with its European HQ in Munich, Germany. It was the first Chinese start-up to introduce an electric vehicle to the European market with the launch of the U5 in 2020 – a battery-electric SUV with impressive range, style, and quality. Aiways is rapidly continuing its expansion in Europe and beyond: order books are open in Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, Israel, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Sweden, Croatia, Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Slovenia – with more markets to follow. The U5 SUV is produced at Aiways’ smart production facility in Shangrao – one of the most modern car production facilities in China. The IT-controlled processes with challenging quality gates follow the standards of Industry 4.0. With an initial production capacity of 150,000 units per annum, Aiways can increase this number to 300,000 units when global EV demand rises. Aiways’ next model for Europe will be the battery-electric U6 SUV-Coupé. With a focus on sophisticated aerodynamics, highly connected driving, safety technology, and a sporty design, the U6 SUV-Coupé is just the next chapter of Aiways’ promising future.