Helena Wisbert from Neuss
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An expert in the automotive industry
Helena Wisbert feels most comfortable in her home town of Neuss. However, she also commutes regularly to Wolfsburg for her professorship in the automotive industry.
Photo: Stefan Büntig
Neuss Helena Wisbert from Neuss is responsible for the “Automotive Industry” chair at the “Ostfalia” state technical college in Wolfsburg. Since August she has also been working with “Auto-Pope” Ferdinand Dudenhöfer.
Helena Wisbert knows all about mobility. Simply because of her commute to work. After all, the Neuss resident commutes between Quirinusstadt and Autostadt Wolfsburg every week. “Sometimes I even drive there in the morning and back again in the evening,” says Wisbert, who has held the chair for “Automotive Economics” at the state technical college “Ostfalia” in Wolfsburg since March. Moving is not an option for them at the moment. “I’m too deeply rooted here in Neuss,” says the 39-year-old. In August, she was also appointed to the post of director of the Center Automotive Research (CAR) in Duisburg.
The CAR Institute is a private research institute with a focus on mobility issues. Among other things, it publishes monthly market analyzes and customer surveys. The founder of the institute is the “auto pope” Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, whom Wisbert was able to accompany a few days ago at the IAA transport and logistics trade fair in Hanover. “He really was a small star there and was very often asked for photos,” reports the woman from Neuss, who also gained media interest at the trade fair when she gave an interview to the television station NTV and spoke there about the future of the automotive industry.
Wisbert has been involved in the industry for quite some time: “I started at Volkswagen with my diploma thesis in 2008 and then worked there for nine years”. She then went back five years to her home country for FOM Düsseldorf, where she headed subjects such as marketing and sales. “Students have always told me that I often take examples with cars,” says Wisbert. The Neuss native took advantage of her opportunity in March when the opportunity arose to teach in the automotive industry at the “Ostfalia” in Wolfsburg.
“The automotive industry is currently in a transformation process – in many ways. And that is also reflected in my lectures,” says Wisbert. One of her focal points is the digital transformation of the automotive industry. This involves topics such as autonomous driving or connected car services. Another focus is the new sales channels. “The automotive industry is considered the last bastion of stationary trade. But that too will change,” says Wisbert. Special subscription models for cars, which are already on the rise and will change the market, would contribute to this. “These are subscriptions like Netflix, where you have everything included in a monthly rate, except for the fuel costs,” describes the woman from Neuss. In this area in particular, many start-ups are currently emerging that would give the established car manufacturers a run for their money.
But Wisbert is also concerned with the charging infrastructure for e-cars: “In Neuss, for example, there is a shortage of charging stations. Especially for plug-in hybrids that are dependent on public charging stations.” According to the Neusserin, a new concept is needed here quickly.