Skoda Auto Appoints Thomas Schafer As New Chairman Of The Board

Skoda Auto has announced appointing Thomas Schafer as its Chairman of the Board, effective August 3, 2020. Schafer takes over the responsibility of heading the board of the Czech carmaker from Bernhard Maier, who handled the leadership position from the past five years. Before this, Schafer served as the Chairman and Managing Director of Volkswagen Group South Africa since 2015 and was responsible for the development of the Group brands in the sub-Saharan Africa region.

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Thomas Schafer replaces Bernhard Maier as Skoda Auto Chairman who held the position for the last 5 years

Thomas Schafer began his automotive career with Daimler AG in 1991, and over the years, he's held various management positions in the areas of production and quality management in Germany, the USA and South Africa. He was also the founding member of Daimler Chrysler Malaysia, and from 2002 to 2005 served as the Board Member for Technology, where he expanded and restructured the company's sales, production, and supplier base.

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Between 2005 and 2012, Schafer was with Daimler AG in Germany and was responsible for vehicle deliveries, customer centres and the global xKD business in emerging markets. In addition to establishing new plants, he was also responsible for planning and strategy and international logistics for all foreign plants. In 2011 he managed the construction of the Mercedes-Benz plant project in China, in cooperation with BAIC.

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Previously, Thomas Schafer was Chairman and MD of VW Group South Africa, where he developed and strengthened its position in sub-Saharan Africa

Finally, in 2012, Thomas Schafer joined Skoda's parent company, the Volkswagen AG, in Germany, and headed the Group's International Production and was responsible for xKD projects and negotiations on new production sites, before becoming the Chairman and MG of Volkswagen Group South Africa. At VW, Schafer was responsible for the expansion of the company's sales network, increased dealer profitability. He also led the Group brands Volkswagen, Audi and VW Commercial Vehicles to the current record market share of 23.5 per cent. Under his leadership, the VW Group is claimed to have developed and strengthened its position in sub-Saharan Africa, building new production sites, entering into new cooperation agreements with importers, and developing mobility concepts for Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Ghana.