Volkswagen Group Africa (VWGA) has welcomed a new Production Director, Marc Stephan, joining the company effective 1 August 2026.
Marc succeeds Ulrich Schwabe, who led production at Plant Kariega from April 2021 to July 2026. He joins the company from the Volkswagen plant in Zwickau, Germany, where he served as Head of Production. In this role, he led the plant’s transformation to Volkswagen Group’s first fully electric vehicle manufacturing facility, producing models such as the Volkswagen ID.3, ID.4 and ID.5, Audi Q4 e-tron and Cupra Born.
During his career, Marc has held various positions in Wolfsburg, Chattanooga and Pamplona. He holds an Engineering and Economics qualification and brings more than 20 years of experience gained within the Volkswagen Group. With joining VWGA, he now takes on the important responsibility of leading production operations through the successful start of production of the Tengo (Volkswagen’s third model to be built at Plant Kariega), developing the plant for future models, and further expanding Volkswagen’s African production network.
“On behalf of the Board of Management, I would like to thank Ulrich Schwabe for his dedicated service and significant contribution to Volkswagen Group Africa,” said Martina Biene, VWGA Chairperson and Managing Director. “Uli played a pivotal role in expanding our manufacturing footprint across Africa and bolstering our environmental sustainability initiatives. Under his leadership, Plant Kariega also achieved a record production volume of 167 084 vehicles in 2024.”
“I also want to extend a warm welcome to Marc, who we believe will lead our production teams into our Tengo chapter and beyond. I am excited to see how his expertise will progress VWGA’s production capabilities to the next level,” concluded Biene.