Christian Schenk, Board Member for Finance and IT at  Skoda Auto, will be the new chairman while Christian Cahn von Seelen will come on board as executive director – Sales & Marketing.

Piyush Arora, as announced earlier, is the MD of SAVWIPL, and came in from Mercedes-Benz India.

Thomas Schafer, CEO of Skoda Auto, said, “I am confident that Christian Cahn von Seelen’s understanding of SAVWIPL’s business in India right from inception, and his strong relationships at HQ, will complement Piyush Arora’s deep knowledge and experience of the Indian automotive sector. Along with Christian Schenk’s support at HQ, this leadership team is fully geared to accelerate our growth in the Indian market.”

Christian Schenk will work closely with the India leadership team to capitalise on the growth opportunities for the Group. ”The Indian region has become a more important and  relevant pillar in the Volkswagen-Group and especially for Skoda. I am looking forward to this new challenge,” he said.

Christian Cahn von Seelen was responsible for Skoda Auto in India, China, North Africa and Russia and involved with the operations of the merged entity SAVWIPL right from the beginning in his capacity as Chairman. He will now be responsible for steering the sales and marketing for Skoda, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and Lamborghini in India.

The year 2022 will see significant initiatives from all Volkswagen Group brands in India.

SAVWIPL drives into the final mile of the India 2.0 project, with the recent launch of the Skoda Slavia and the subsequent launch of the notchback from Volkswagen. The Group’s premium brands, Audi, Porsche and Lamborghini are gearing up to roll-out new products too.

The company recently commenced exports of the Volkswagen T-Cross, the first vehicle built on the MQB-A0-IN platform, customised for the Indian market.