Audi has announced a significant shift for its leadership in the USA, naming Vito Paladino as the next President of Audi of America and Head of the Audi North America Region, effective April 1, 2026. The move marks a pivotal moment as the brand continues what it refers to as the largest product launch cadence in its history while also challenged with a sales slide in the United States.
Paladino succeeds Daniel Weissland, who will transition to become President of the FAW Audi Sales Company China.
A CANADIAN SUCCESS STORY MOVES SOUTH
Paladino, 49, currently serves as President and CEO of Volkswagen Group Canada and President of Audi Canada. A Canadian national, he joined Audi Canada in 2013 in Sales Operations and spent the next decade leading Sales and After Sales before being appointed President in 2020.
During his tenure, Audi Canada achieved a series of milestones. In 2022, the brand became the #1 premium marque in Canada by sales volume for the first time in its history. The organization also delivered its best-ever after sales performance and, under Paladino’s expanded leadership beginning in 2024, Volkswagen Group Canada posted consecutive record years.
He arrives in the U.S. market with a track record of disciplined execution, dealer engagement and measurable growth.
CONTINUITY DURING A SHIFTING CURRENTS – MODEL ONSLAUGHT VS. SALES SLIDE
The timing is notable. From a glass half full perspective, Audi is deep into what it describes as the largest model launch initiative in the brand’s U.S. history. That effort, initiated under Weissland’s tenure, spans internal combustion, hybrid and electric offerings across core segments.
That said, the strategy these past few years also hasn’t proven itself entirely to be a winning one. Audi sales peaked in 2023 at 228,550 vehicles – a 22% increase over the prior year. Since that time, the brand has receded to 196,576 (-14%) in 2024, then 164,942 (-16%) in 2025. And, while we don’t yet know how sales will go in 2026, the brand is projecting a drop to 144,000… at least as stated as part of testimony in a lawsuit between the brand and one of its dealerships. Apparently there are some technicalities that suggest the overall outlook could be brighter but you get the drift – the trend has been down and the outlook for this year minus the unknown growth of new models undoubtedly put pressure on Audi AG to shift gears in the USA.
Paladino, for his part, emphasized dealer collaboration and product momentum in his first remarks as incoming president. Having spent much of his career within the Audi ecosystem, he highlighted the brand’s passion and innovation, signaling a focus on performance, customer experience and continued growth.
WEISSLAND HEADS TO CHINA
Weissland’s move to the FAW Audi Sales Company China can be interpreted any number of ways. Things weren’t working in the USA – a market he’s run since 2019. During that time, Weissland navigated a challenging time contending with the pandemic, pressures to shift to electric in a market that seems to want to buck that trend, product delays measured in years due to software challenges and now tariffs.
Beyond that, sources have told us back when he was first hired that he was also tasked with lowering spending. During his tenure, we saw cuts of programs such as European delivery, Audi driving experience at Circuit of the Americas, Audi Sport customer racing, auto show participation, Monterey Car Week participation and funding of Audi Club North America. The full time position managing the Audi exclusive business was also eliminated. Audi of America’s US-based Audi Tradition fleet was dissolved and cars sold back to Germany or to private collectors with very few exceptions. In that time, Audi also went through two Chief Marketing Officers.
When you summarize these programs as a whole, you begin to see perhaps how enthusiasm and passion for the brand could have become undermined. Did that have an effect? You’d likely have to seek out internal studies to know for certain, but the sales seem to suggest it.
At the same time, Audi seems to be re-embracing the idea of passion for the brand. The F1 team begins in earnest next week at the Australian Grand Prix. This week, key journalists and influencers are sampling the all-new RS 5 in Morocco. Last week, that RS 5 was made public as was news of the brand’s new enthusiast chief of product development. Globally at least, Audi is shifting towards leaning into passion for the brand and Weissland’s legacy in the USA seemed less about that and more about cutting costs… at least from this outward position.
Worth noting, Weissland isn’t leaving the company. Strategically, he’s been shifted to China – a market that remains one of Audi’s most critical, and the appointment reflects the company’s view that North American commercial experience can translate into competitive gains in Asia’s largest automotive arena.
The question, at least from the perspective of this enthusiast, is how his influence will affect China. Audi China has their own enthusiast efforts and they’ve also got sales to back up those budgets. However, they’re also faced with a market that’s shifting increasingly towards electrics and Chinese domestic brands. Identifying a winning strategy for China and pairing that with his own skillset will be the challenge Weissland faces in his new role.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR U.S. DEALERS & ENTHUSIASTS
For U.S. dealers, this personnel change suggests a fresh approach in the USA. Paladino’s background in Sales and After Sales operations hints at an emphasis on network performance, service retention and market share discipline.
For enthusiasts, the backdrop is just as important as the executive title. Audi’s accelerated product cadence arrives amid major transitions in powertrain strategy, electrification, performance sub-brand positioning and motorsport engagement — including the brand’s forthcoming Formula 1 program. Beyond that, and unlike Audi of America, Audi Canada has also chosen to maintain several key enthusiast-driver elements such as a Canadian domestic Audi driving experience program and auto show presence with the R26 seeing its North American show debut just last week in Toronto.
Paladino steps into the role not during a quiet period, but during one where the brand faces a reset in the USA and also on a global level. It’s just beginning one of the most consequential product and brand cycles in recent Audi of America history. April 1 will mark a personnel change to be sure, though I suspect enthusiasts and dealers await even more eagerly to see where how this new leadership chooses to write the next chapter in Audi’s North American story.