Volvo's Germanification moment?
Volvo Cars snatches Klaus Zellmer from under the noses of Volkswagen Group at a crucial time for both Volvo Cars as well as the Germans
Maintaining Thomas Schäfer's successful drive of turning Škoda Auto into a cash cow of Volkswagen Group, which has become ever more vital over the past 24 months with the demise of traditional profit drivers AUDI AG and Porsche AG, driven not only by its lower-cost geographical location but also by strong products based on Volkswagen models, Zellmer's departure at such a crucial moment for Volkswagen will hurt.
However, with Zellmer now gone, Volkswagen Core brand CEO, Schäfer will no doubt still have his recipe for success close to his chest, which he created during his tenure, and will be mailing it over to the next CEO as soon as they are appointed.
As for Zellmer and Volvo Cars, the likelihood that Winfried Vahland somehow has his fingers in this appointment can't be ignored.
Bringing someone with Zellmer's track record at Škoda, which managed to maintain a strong brand identity and deliver strong synergies from the Volkswagen Group empire, should come in very useful over in Gothenburg, but this time maintaining a strong and unique Volvo brand while leveraging those equivalent Geely Holding Europe synergies.
To summarise, we can probably call this appointment a shift towards the Germanification of the Chinese majority-owned Swedish car brand that has closely aligned itself with its German premium peers over the past half-decade.
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Scope: Western Europe's 18 Markets: EU Member States prior to the 2004 enlargement, plus EFTA markets Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, plus UK – accounting for 90% of the enlarged European region.
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