Thomas Schafer Appointed Skoda Auto Supervisory Board Chairman

Skoda Auto has appointed Thomas Schafer to the role of Chairman of the brand’s Supervisory Board. Schafer replaces Murat Aksel who retains a place on Skoda’s supervisory board. The latest appointment means that Schafer will hold the role of Chairman of the Board for all ‘Volume’ Brands under the Volkswagen Group. Thomas Schäfer was recently elected Chairman of the Advisory Board of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of SEAT/Cupra aside from being the Chairman of the Board of Management for Volkswagen Passenger Cars. Schafer was previously the head of Skoda Auto till he moved to VW in April 2022.

The Volume brands comprise of Volkswagen passenger and commercial vehicles, Skoda Auto, SEAT and Cupra.

“At the Group level, ŠKODA is responsible for emerging markets, such as India and North Africa, and for projects like developing the next generation of the VW Passat and ŠKODA 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, ŠKODA plays a vital role, and its expertise will make a significant contribution to leveraging synergy potential,” said Schafer.

The VW Group says that the move will further help further “intensify and accelerate the cooperation” between the Group’s volume brands while also reducing costs and complexity.