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Swedish carmaker Volvo Cars said Sunday it has appointed Klaus Zellmer, the chief executive of Skoda Auto, as its next president and CEO.
Zellmer is due to take up the post no later than Oct. 1, 2027.
He will succeed Hakan Samuelsson, 75, who led the company from 2012 to 2022 and returned in April 2025 to draw up its future strategic roadmap during a difficult period for the automotive industry.
Samuelsson announced earlier this week that he plans to step down as his contract comes to an end, and the company said he will work with the board to ensure a smooth handover.
Volvo Cars Chairperson Eric Li said Zellmer brings "deep automotive expertise" and "broad international leadership experience," along with a record of guiding organizations through transformation and changing market conditions.
Li added that Zellmer's background in both high-end premium and high-volume brands suits Volvo Cars, and that the board is confident the company will build on its foundations and strengthen its position as a leading premium carmaker.
Zellmer said he was delighted to join the company at "such an important moment in the company's development." He praised Volvo Cars' long-standing reputation for safety and its design language and brand identity, and said he looks forward to working with colleagues to build on those strengths.
He described the company's ability to reinvent itself over almost 100 years as both a remarkable achievement and an ongoing challenge.
Born in 1967, Zellmer has more than 30 years of experience in the automotive industry. He currently serves as chairman of the board of management and CEO of Skoda Auto, the Czech carmaker that is part of the Volkswagen Group.
Under his leadership, Skoda became one of Europe's best-selling car brands and posted record results in 2025, followed by further growth and record deliveries of electric vehicles in the first half of 2026.
He previously sat on the board of management of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, where he was responsible for marketing, sales, and after-sales.
Before that, he spent more than 20 years at Porsche, where he held several senior positions, including CEO of Porsche Deutschland (Germany) and CEO of Porsche North America.
After graduating with a degree in business administration, Zellmer spent three years from 1994 at the Institute for Automotive Economics at the Nurtingen-Geislingen University of Applied Sciences.
Volvo Cars said Samuelsson has provided stability during a pivotal period for the company while preparing for a long-term successor.
The company made the announcement public under the EU Market Abuse Regulation, a law requiring listed companies to promptly disclose information that could affect their share price.
Volvo Car AB (publ), the company's legal name, with "publ" indicating a publicly listed firm in Sweden, submitted the information for publication at 12:46 p.m. local time (10:46 a.m. GMT) on Sept. 20.
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