New VWSA MD from February.

Thomas Schaefer, an engineer, takes over from David Powells as MD of Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) from 1 February 2015.  Schaefer has been working for the Volkswagen Group (VWAG) since 2012 as Head of Group Production (Foreign Plants). He started his working career at Mercedes-Benz AG in 1994. No stranger to South Africa, he moved to East London in 1998 in a management role at Mercedes-Benz South Africa. In 2002 he moved to Malaysia as the Plant Manager and remained there for until 2005 when he returned to Germany to take responsibility for the planning of their production plants.

David Powells has been appointed President of Volkswagen do Brasil. This is one of VWAG’s biggest operations outside of Germany.

The VWSA dealer network has been modernised and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles was has been established as a stand-alone brand with the introduction of Crafter, Caddy and subsequently the Amarok.