Photo: Skoda
Effective today, Bernhard Maier is the new CEO of Czech carmaker Skoda. The decision comes after former boss Dr Winfried Vahland announced he wanted to leave the VW Group altogether a few weeks ago.
We'll remind you that Dr Vahland was offered a new position as head of VW's North American operations during VW's reorganization of the top brass. However, he turned it down and decided to leave Volkswagen Group altogether. Vahland is leaving Volkswagen after 25 years, 5 of which were with Skoda.
His successor will have a tough job juggling cost cuts, the need to grow into new markets and segments, plus the damage caused by the infamous Dieselgate scandal.
Maier is the former Sales and Marketing Director at Porsche AG. He was born in Schwäbisch Gmünd. He graduated as a master mechanic in 1984 and studied business in Calw. After holding several positions at BMW Germany, he moved to Porsche in 2001.
“This company is an outstanding representative of the importance of the Czech Republic and Bohemia as one of the cradles of European automobile manufacturing. The people from this region have an excellent reputation around the world for their craftsmanship and engineering skills. Skoda has grown impressively over recent years with a remarkable number of new vehicle launches. The company has a stable base for further successful development. It is my great task to take the brand forward alongside a highly dedicated team. We plan to continue on this road to success and expand Skoda’s market position and brand strength with new models," says Maier.
Despite also being hurt by the Dieselgate scandal, Skoda is still performing well. Over the first nine months of 2015, the Czech carmaker sold 2.2% more cars than in the same period last year. Operating profit rose significantly to €734 million, an increase of 12.7%, while sales revenue was increased by 5.7% to €9.3 billion.
His successor will have a tough job juggling cost cuts, the need to grow into new markets and segments, plus the damage caused by the infamous Dieselgate scandal.
Maier is the former Sales and Marketing Director at Porsche AG. He was born in Schwäbisch Gmünd. He graduated as a master mechanic in 1984 and studied business in Calw. After holding several positions at BMW Germany, he moved to Porsche in 2001.
“This company is an outstanding representative of the importance of the Czech Republic and Bohemia as one of the cradles of European automobile manufacturing. The people from this region have an excellent reputation around the world for their craftsmanship and engineering skills. Skoda has grown impressively over recent years with a remarkable number of new vehicle launches. The company has a stable base for further successful development. It is my great task to take the brand forward alongside a highly dedicated team. We plan to continue on this road to success and expand Skoda’s market position and brand strength with new models," says Maier.
Despite also being hurt by the Dieselgate scandal, Skoda is still performing well. Over the first nine months of 2015, the Czech carmaker sold 2.2% more cars than in the same period last year. Operating profit rose significantly to €734 million, an increase of 12.7%, while sales revenue was increased by 5.7% to €9.3 billion.
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