Martin Jahn promoted: last Czech on Škoda's board joins Volkswagen

Martin Jahn, the last Czech on Škoda Auto's management board, is stepping down from the post but not leaving the group — from October he will take up a seat on the board of sister brand Volkswagen, responsible for sales, marketing and after-sales service. He has also been nominated to Škoda's own supervisory board.

Jahn has worked at the Volkswagen Group for twenty years, and before that, from 2004 to 2006, he served as the Czech Republic's deputy prime minister for economic affairs. According to Škoda Auto board chairman Klaus Zellmer, it was Jahn who drove the brand's successful launch of electric vehicles, and it is largely thanks to his work that Škoda became the second best-selling brand in Europe.

He will be succeeded on Škoda's board by Martina Biene, who has headed Volkswagen Group Africa since September 2022. She has worked at the Volkswagen Group since 2001 and has previously served as regional manager for Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as head of product planning in Germany.

The reshuffle comes amid a serious crisis at the Volkswagen Group, which is preparing for a large-scale restructuring. According to the publication WirtschaftWoche, the group's management intends to propose closing four plants to the supervisory board.