Thomas Schafer, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Passenger Cars and Head of the ‘Volume’ brand group will take over as Chairman of Skoda Auto’s Supervisory Board.
He succeeds Murat Aksel, who will step down as Chairman while remaining a member of the supervisory body. This step will further intensify and accelerate the cooperation within the ‘Volume’ brand group in order to leverage synergy potential. The company says the aim is to significantly and sustainably reduce costs and complexity.
Thomas Schafer emphasised, “At the Group level, Skoda is responsible for emerging markets, such as India and North Africa, and for projects like developing the next generation of the Volkswagen Passat and Skoda Superb. Its responsibility for the MQB A0 Global Platform also shows how strongly the brand is established within the Group. Within the ‘Volume’ brand group, Skoda plays a vital role, and its expertise will make a significant contribution to leveraging synergy potential. The goal is clear: To significantly and sustainably reduce costs and complexity through close cooperation among the brands.”
The ‘Volume’ brand group consists of the Group brands Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Skoda, Seat/ Cupra and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. Since the first quarter of this year, the results of the Volume brand group have been reported separately in the Volkswagen Group’s quarterly report. Thomas Schäfer was recently elected Chairman of the Advisory Board of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Seat/Cupra.
