Volvo Taps Skoda Leader Klaus Zellmer to Take CEO Position by Late Next Year

• Volvo announced that Klaus Zellmer will take over as president and CEO of Volvo Cars by October 1, 2027.
• Zellmer will replace Håkan Samuelsson, who began a two-year tenure as CEO in April 2025.
• Zellmer joins Volvo with former experience as CEO at Porsche Cars North America, Porsche Deutschland, and Škoda Auto.

Volvo has selected a new CEO, but he’ll have some time to get ready before the official handoff. Klaus Zellmer will take the reins as president and CEO of Volvo Cars no later than October 1, 2027.

Zellmer will replace Håkan Samuelsson, who has now held the position twice. Samuelsson first spent a decade as CEO from 2012 to 2022, and he was tapped again in 2025 for a two-year stint as CEO while Volvo worked on a long-term road map to navigate lower EV demand and tariff challenges. Samuelsson’s two-year agreement gave Volvo time to develop a lasting plan and select a CEO that aligned with the company’s future vision.

Volvo Cars’ current CEO Håkan Samuelsson

While Zellmer, 59, is new to Volvo, this won’t be his first time at the helm of a global car company. Currently, he serves as CEO of Škoda Auto, which ended 2025 as one of the bestselling brands in Europe and has seen record EV deliveries so far in 2026. He also served as CEO of Porsche Cars North America and Porsche Deutschland and was a board member for Volkswagen Passenger Cars. Zellmer holds a degree in business administration and spent his early auto industry career in sales and marketing positions.

Eric Li, chairman of Volvo Cars, says Zellmer’s experience at both high-end and high-volume brands is an “excellent fit” for Volvo. The board is confident Zellmer will be able to guide Volvo through changing markets and strengthen the road map developed during Samuelsson’s second tenure as CEO.

“After almost 100 years, Volvo Cars’ ability to reinvent itself time and again is both a remarkable achievement and an ongoing challenge,” Zellmer said in a press release. “I look forward to contributing to the company’s continued development and to shaping its next chapter together.”

Volvo hasn’t announced a start date for Zellmer yet, but a press release says Samuelsson and the board will work to make a seamless transition by October 1, 2027.

➡️ Skip the lot. Let Car and Driver help you find your next car.

Alayna Wilkening grew up reading motorsport magazines and following her grandpa around his Chevrolet dealership's showroom floor. In true Hoosier fashion, her first car was a hot pink custom cardboard "Fiero-vette" for her kindergarten Kindy 500 race. She now autocrosses a 1994 Miata with her dad, which she learned to drive the night before her first event. Alayna went to Indiana University and graduated with a degree in journalism and a minor in graphic design. As a testament to her great taste in cars, her first real one was a metallic orange 2007 Chevy HHR, which she lovingly called "The Dumptruck."