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David Powels, Managing Director of Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) has been appointed as President of Volkswagen do Brasil
Thomas Schäfer was appointed as Managing Director of Volkswagen Group South Africa .
David Powels, a Chartered Accountant, was born and educated in Port Elizabeth.
He joined VWSA in 1989 in the Finance Division and it was not long before he made his mark and he became Export Manager traveling the world looking for Group companies who would accept components from this country. He returned to the Finance Division in 1993 to head the Controlling Division, this was followed by a foreign assignment in Finance at both Volkswagen AG and Audi AG.
He returned to South Africa in 1998 as Finance Director, a post he held for four years before becoming Vice President Finance and Corporate Strategy at Volkswagen do Brasil in 2002. In 2007, he returned to South Africa as Managing Director.
Thomas Schäfer, an Engineer, has been working for the Volkswagen Group (VWAG) since 2012 as Head of Group Production (Foreign Plants). He started his working career at Mercedes Benz AG in 1994. No stranger to South Africa, he moved to East London in 1998 in a management role at Mercedes Benz South Africa. In 2002 he moved to Malaysia as the Plant Manager and remained there for Mercedes till 2005 when he returned to Germany responsible for the planning of their Production plants.
During David Powels' tenure as Managing Director at Volkswagen South Africa the company invested over R7 billion in plant, product and infrastructure. The factory was modernised and platforms rationalised with the introduction of the Polo and Polo Vivo in 2010. Local content was increased significantly to levels in excess of 70%, helped by the establishment of numerous Global suppliers in the Nelson Mandela Logistics Park in Uitenhage. These two cars have been the best-selling passenger models in South Africa since introduction and helped to secure passenger market leadership for VWSA for four consecutive years.
The Dealer network has been modernised and Audi and Volkswagen have become the benchmark in customer satisfaction in the industry in South Africa. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles was also established as a stand-alone brand with the introduction of Crafter, Caddy and subsequently the Amarok.
David Powels made people a priority with a strong focus on skills development, career planning and the up skilling of all employees which was driven through the five Learning Academies established for this purpose.
As a result, VWSA was recognised as a Top Employer for four years in a row which also included recognition for innovative concepts such as the fortnightly One Team meetings for all production employees and the PeoplePavilion - a first in the VW Group - a sport, recreation, rehabilitation and community center built on the banks of the Swartkops river adjacent to the Uitenhage plant.
David Powels moves to one VWAG's biggest operations outside of Germany, a country with a population of over 200 million people, with a car market of 3.5 million cars a year with Volkswagen being the biggest manufacturer in Brazil producing over 700 000 cars a year.
Volkswagen do Brasil is the largest vehicle manufacturer and one of the largest private companies in the country. Currently, with 23 models, Volkswagen do Brasil offers a complete portfolio of vehicles including locally developed cars such as the Gofl, Fox and Saveiro. Volkswagen do Brasil also has the largest dealer network, with more than 600 dealerships in the country. Established in in 1953 Volkswagen do Brasil, has over 22,000 employees in its four plants - São Bernardo do Campo (SP), Taubaté (SP), São José dos Pinhais (PR) and São Carlos (SP).
The appointments are effective from February 2015.
