Škoda Auto Names Martina Biene Sales and Marketing Board Member

Škoda Auto announced changes to its Board of Management naming Martina Biene, currently Chair and Managing Director of Volkswagen Group Africa, as its new Board Member for Sales and Marketing, effective October 1, 2026. She succeeds Martin Jahn, who has held the role since March 2021 and will move to Wolfsburg to join the Board of Management of the Volkswagen brand, where he will oversee Sales, Marketing and After Sales. Subject to regulatory approvals, Jahn is also set to join Škoda Auto's Supervisory Board.

Announcing the change, Škoda Auto CEO Klaus Zellmer, Škoda Auto CEO, said: "Under [Jahn's] leadership, we managed to become the second best-selling brand in Europe, successfully introduced our battery electric models, built an even more customer-centric sales organization with our Škoda typical human touch, introduced a new corporate identity that reflects our ambitions, and increased our brand value... Martina Biene's... valuable international experience will help us further strengthen Škoda's growing international footprint and continue our successful development in global markets."

During Jahn's tenure, Škoda's sales climbed steadily. In the first half of 2025, the brand delivered 509,400 vehicles worldwide, up 13.6% from 448,600 units in H1 2024, becoming Europe's third best-selling car brand for the first time in its 130-year history.

For the full year 2025, deliveries rose further to 1,043,900 vehicles, a 12.7% increase over 926,600 units in 2024 — Škoda's strongest annual sales performance in six years. By the first quarter of 2026, the brand had advanced to Europe's second-best-selling position, a ranking it retained through the first half of the year with 555,700 units delivered worldwide.

Biene joined Volkswagen in 2001 and has since held roles including Area Sales Manager for Belgium and Luxembourg, Head of Product Planning for Germany, Head of Global Product Marketing, and Head of the Volkswagen Brand in South Africa.

She was appointed Head of the Volkswagen Small and Compact Product Line in August 2020 and has served as Chair and Managing Director of Volkswagen Group Africa since September 2022.

Jahn has been with the Volkswagen Group for 20 years. He began his career at CzechInvest in 1994, becoming its CEO in 2000, and served as the Czech Republic's Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs from 2004 to 2006.

He first joined Škoda Auto in 2006 as Board Member for Human Resources, later holding management roles at Volkswagen Group Rus, Volkswagen Group's international fleet business, and FAW-VW in China, before rejoining Škoda Auto as Board Member for Sales and Marketing in March 2021.