Volkswagen Group Africa chief Biene to join Skoda, Porsche exec to succeed her

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By Nqobile Dludla

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Volkswagen Group Africa Managing Director Martina Biene will leave the South African unit next month to become the board member for sales and marketing at VW's Czech unit Skoda Auto, the company said on Thursday.

• Biene, who became VWGA's first female chairperson and MD in November 2022, will take up her new role on October 1.

• She will be succeeded by Christiane Zorn, currently vice president for the overseas region at Porsche AG, VWGA said in a statement.

• The leadership changes come after a period of significant investment and production growth at Volkswagen's South African operation in Kariega in the Eastern Cape Province.

• Under Biene's leadership, VWGA's Kariega plant produced a record 167,084 vehicles in 2024, the Polo maker said.

• The company also announced a 4 billion rand ($249.4 million) investment that year to add a third model, the Tengo, to its production line-up.

• The Tengo, which Volkswagen unveiled this week, is expected to support the group's SUV expansion plans in domestic and African export markets at a time when Chinese rivals are penetrating the market with high-tech and relatively affordable models.

• "Despite the challenges facing both the automotive industry and our company, we have achieved many milestones worth celebrating. The early launch of the Tengo ranks highly amongst these achievements," Biene said.

• Zorn, who has two decades of automotive industry experience, joined Porsche after holding a series of senior management roles at Audi, including head of sales for China, head of product marketing and head of product strategy.($1 = 16.0399 rand)

(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Jan Harvey)