Klaus Zellmer moves from Škoda to Volvo
Current Skoda boss Klaus Zellmer (59) will become the new President and CEO of Volvo Cars by October 2027 at the latest. He will succeed Håkan Samuelsson, who at 75 has already announced that he will no longer work full-time after his contract ends in April 2027.
Klaus Zellmer to become new Volvo CEO
Image: Volvo Cars
Volvo Cars has now appointed a new CEO. The search for a new CEO was announced back in March 2025 when Håkan Samuelsson was appointed interim CEO. The Swedish executive was brought back to the position after serving a decade as Volvo’s CEO from 2012 to 2022 to lead the company again for approximately two years until a permanent new CEO was found.
Volvo Cars, the Swedish heritage brand owned by China’s Geely Group since 2010, has now found that permanent CEO in Klaus Zellmer. The German executive has been the head of Czech Volkswagen subsidiary Škoda since 2022 and previously served as the brand’s sales director for VW. He also brings extensive experience in the premium segment, having worked in various positions at Porsche from 1997 to 2020, where he spent the majority of his career to date.
“Klaus Zellmer combines deep automotive expertise with broad international leadership experience and a strong record of guiding organisations through transformation and changing market conditions,” says Geely founder and Volvo Cars Chairman Li Shufu. “His experience from both the high-end premium segment and high-volume brands is an excellent fit for Volvo Cars. The Board is confident that, under Klaus Zellmer’s leadership, Volvo Cars will build on its strong foundations and enter its next chapter with a clear ambition to strengthen its position as a leading premium car company.”
Klaus Zellmer praises Volvo’s design and brand identity
Klaus Zellmer himself says of his new company, “Few automotive brands have built such a strong and lasting reputation for safety, consistently applying this core value across the mobility sector. I admire Volvo Cars’ timeless, contemporary design language and the clarity of its brand identity.”
After nearly 100 years in the market, Volvo Cars’ ability to repeatedly reinvent itself is both a remarkable achievement and a constant challenge, Zellmer notes.
Zellmer likely aspired to be Porsche CEO
The fact that Klaus Zellmer is leaving the VW Group after nearly 30 years may indicate a degree of frustration that his path at the German automotive giant was not progressing as expected. Months previously, various German media outlets — including _Bild_, the _Handelsblatt_, and later _Wirtschaftswoche_ — had touted him as a leading candidate to succeed Oliver Blume as Porsche CEO. However, this role went to Michael Leiters instead.
At Volvo Cars, Klaus Zellmer now faces the responsibility of overseeing a comprehensive corporate restructuring. The company recently missed its profitability targets and suffered a sales slump in China. Volvo Cars plans to launch 13 new models by the end of the decade, seven for Western markets and six for China. These must not fail under any circumstances. Volvo aims to double its market share in electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. Just last week, the Swedish-based company unveiled their first “Long Range Plug-in Hybrids” with up to 200 kilometres of electric range.
Håkan Samuelsson’s remarks at Volvo’s strategy day last Thursday accelerated the public announcement of his successor. In response to a question from a Nordea Bank analyst, he stated that he did not plan to continue working full-time after his contract ends next April.
New CEO for Germany also appointed
The Swedish-Chinese automotive giant is also making changes at its helm in Germany, where Herrik van der Gaag, Managing Director of Volvo Car Germany GmbH and Volvo Cars Netherlands as well as Head of Central Europe, has decided to leave the company after more than eight years. His successor as head of Volvo in Germany will be René Müller, effective 1 October 2026. Müller, previously Director of Commercial Operations at Volvo in Germany, was formerly Chief Operating Officer of smart Europe.