Look at this photo.
Parked at the curb is an early FAW-Volkswagen Jetta Mk2 taxi.
Decades ago, this boxy sedan wasn’t just a car. It was the backbone of urban mobility in China.
Here is what Volkswagen mastered during their golden era:
Unmatched Longevity: The A2 platform had a production run spanning over 20 years, proving that robust, simple mechanics win trust.
Deep Local Integration: From taxi fleets to driving schools and municipal transit, VW built infrastructure, not just vehicles.
Market Monopolization: They defined “quality” for millions of consumers and dominated market share for nearly 30 years.
Fast-forward to today.
The playbook has completely flipped.
The market VW helped build is now the most competitive EV ecosystem on earth.
Domestic OEMs are moving at breakneck speed, replacing 20-year product lifecycles with rapid, software-defined iterations measured in months.
The lesson for every industry:
Legacy scale is not a moat against relentless speed and market-fit disruption.
Hardware excellence built yesterday doesn’t guarantee a seat at the table tomorrow.
✍️ Question for all of us:
How are you balancing the strengths of your core legacy business with the radical speed required to compete today?
