Brand Group Core: cross-brand steering model for production reaches implementation phase

Future Production Governance – reorientation of production network within Brand Group Core to boost efficiency, flexibility and competitiveness
Company creates new function of Chief Production Officer (CPO) with responsibility for the Iberian Peninsula production region
New plant manager at Volkswagen Autoeuropa in Portugal; new Head of Planning and Production Technology for the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand in Wolfsburg

With our new structure of five production regions, we are positioning ourselves more efficiently and flexibly, laying the groundwork for the next generation of production. The reorganization of our management model on the Iberian Peninsula is the beginning – with our new, cross-brand steering model, we intend to leverage further synergy effects and regional cost benefits, boosting the strength of the Brand Group Core.”

Thomas Schäfer, Member of the Volkswagen AG Board of Management, CEO of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand and Head of the Brand Group Core

The Brand Group Core within the Volkswagen Group – the organizational unit including the volume brands Volkswagen, Škoda, SEAT&CUPRA and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles – is strategically reorienting its production and establishing a high-performance regional production network.

As a first step, André Kleb, to date Head of Planning and Production Technology of the Volkswagen brand, is to assume responsibility for the regional management of production and logistics as the Chief Production Officer for the Iberian Peninsula with effect from January 1, 2026. In the spirit of overall cross-brand responsibility, this newly created function will report to Christian Vollmer, Member of the Board of Management for Production & Logistics of the Volkswagen brand and member of the extended Group Executive Board, and also to Markus Haupt, CEO SEAT&CUPRA.

The new structure for the Iberian Peninsula will include all the plants of the Volkswagen Group in Spain and Portugal. Overarching functions such as central planning, production steering, project and start-of-production management as well as logistics will be anchored within the regional management.

In connection with the reorganization, Thomas Hegel Gunther, currently Managing Director and plant manager of Volkswagen Autoeuropa, is to succeed André Kleb as new Head of Planning and Production Technology of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand in Wolfsburg.

Anabel Andión Lomero, to date the Head of the Pre-Series Center at SEAT&CUPRA in Spain, will become Managing Director and plant manager of Volkswagen Autoeuropa in Portugal with effect from March 1, 2026.

“In production, we are consistently implementing the Brand Group Core approach and are now taking the next step. I am convinced that our steering model will be the right structure for global networking and efficient local production. As Brand Group Core, we will be positioning ourselves competitively for the future. With his international project and start-of-production experience from China and Spain, and his experience with the “Baureihe” and production planning, André Kleb meets all the requirements for guiding the projects of the Electric Urban Car Family and other vehicle models to success - together with the local team in a strong region.”

Christian Vollmer, Board Member of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand responsible for Production and Logistics and Member of the Extended Executive Committee

This new team is also to include Anabel Andión Lomero as the future Managing Director of Volkswagen Autoeuropa. She played a key role in the establishment of the Vorseriencenter (VSC) at SEAT&CUPRA, which is the starting point for the start of production of the Electric Urban Car Family. She will contribute her specialist expertise from the overarching VSC and from past cooperation projects to the Palmela plant in the future.

Under the management of Thomas Hegel Gunther, the Palmela plant has been transformed into one of the most efficient production locations of the Volkswagen brand over the past few years. Christian Vollmer: “Following the successful start of production of the new T-Roc, now is the right time to benefit from Thomas Hegel Gunther’s expertise for the introduction of efficient production structures. He will therefore play a key role as the new Head of Planning and Production Technology.”

Improved competitiveness and efficiency in automobile production

The new BGC Future Production Governance management model with 22 locations is characterized by lean processes in the plants supported by high-performance central functions. Within this system, the regions will become more independent, more efficient and more flexible.
The objective is to ensure a sustained long-term improvement in the competitiveness of BGC-automobile production with cross-brand steering and regional responsibility to master the future challenges. The production and logistics business area will be setting new standards within the Volkswagen Group and the industry.

Biographic details

André Kleb joined Volkswagen after completing his degree in mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Brunswick. Thanks to his many years of experience in international start-of-production and project management, he is extremely well networked at the plants. He has worked in various responsible management functions within production in Germany and other countries, including positions as Head of Plant Planning at Pamplona, Spain, and Wolfsburg. Since 2021, he has been Head of Vehicle Project Management, Planning and Production Technology of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand.

Anabel Andión Lomero joined the test production department of SEAT&CUPRA in 2001. From 2005 to 2008, she was responsible for order management at the prototype center of SEAT&CUPRA and then managed various projects at the prototype center and in start-of-production management at Martorell up to 2012. In 2018 she was appointed as Head of Digital Production at the Pre-Series Center of AUDI AG in Ingolstadt. Since 2020, she has been Head of the Vorseriencenter at SEAT&CUPRA.

Thomas Hegel Gunther joined Volkswagen AG as an international trainee in 2000. From 2001 to 2004, he worked in the body shop at Wolfsburg. In 2005, he was appointed Assistant to the Board Member, Components. From 2007 to 2013, he worked in various management positions in the Components business area. In 2013, he became Head of the Plastics Business Unit. In 2015, he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Management of SITECH Sp. z o.o. in Polkowice (Poland) and Speaker of the Management Board of SITECH Sitztechnik GmbH. In 2018, he became Head of Production Control and Logistics of the Volkswagen Brand. He has been Managing Director of Volkswagen Autoeuropa in Portugal since 2021.