Volvo Poaches Skoda's CEO As Samuelsson Bows Out

Zellmer takes over no later than Oct. 1, 2027. By then, Volvo will have run through four CEOs in roughly five years — a revolving door that has become the norm rather than the exception in Gothenburg.

Zellmer brings over three decades in the industry, with two of those spent at Volkswagen Group. He currently runs Skoda, a brand he built into the continent's number-three carmaker while turning in a first-half 2026 operating margin of 8.5 percent.

That figure is the whole point. Volvo wants a similar 8 percent margin by 2030 as part of what it calls its biggest product push ever. The problem: the Geely-owned brand managed just 3.5 percent last year, and building cars in Sweden costs far more than building them in Czechia. Copying Skoda's math will not be as simple as copying Skoda's CEO.

His electrification credentials are real. The Skoda Elroq trailed only the Tesla Model Y among European EV sellers in 2025, while its bigger sibling, the Enyaq crossover, landed fifth, per Dataforce. Zellmer also ran Porsche's North American division from 2015 to 2020, a stretch that saw U.S. sales climb from 51,756 units to a record 61,568 in 2019.

Volvo has 13 new models slated through the end of 2030 — six for Europe and the U.S., and seven developed specifically for China. The strategy leans on regionalization, with each market getting bespoke, locally built cars.

Chairman Eric Li called Zellmer someone whose "experience from both the high-end premium segment and high-volume brands is an excellent fit for Volvo Cars."

The backstory explains the churn. Samuelsson, who shepherded the SPA architecture underpinning most modern Volvos, left in 2022, was replaced by tech executive Jim Rowan, then returned in 2025 after spending on a new platform spiraled. His comeback was always billed as a two-year placeholder. The placeholder's replacement has now arrived.

[Images: Volvo, Volkswagen Group]

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