Thomas Schäfer has been named chief operating officer of the Volkswagen brand and will assume the COO post, joining the Volkswagen AG Board of Management on July 1.

Schäfer has been CEO of Škoda Auto since August 2020. He launched the new corporate plan “Next Level” – Škoda Strategy 2030, drove electrification of the company’s model portfolio and laid the foundation for becoming a leading European brand in India, Russia and North Africa.

Schäfer joined the Volkswagen Group in 2012, initially heading the Group’s International Production unit. He became chairman and managing director of Volkswagen Group South Africa in 2015 and was responsible for Volkswagen’s business in South Africa and the development of the Group brands in the sub-Saharan Africa region.

A native of Marburg, Germany, Schäfer is a qualified mechanical engineer who began his career at Daimler AG in Stuttgart in 1994, where he held various senior management positions. From 2002 to 2005, he was a founding member of DaimlerChrysler Malaysia as board member for technology.