Thomas Ulbrich becomes VW Head of Development in China

Thomas Ulbrich, previously Board Member for New Mobility at the Volkswagen brand, will become the Group's new Head of Development in China on April 1, 2024. He succeeds Marcus Hafkemeyer, who is taking up a new position within the Group. Ulbrich, who has already held two leading positions for the Group in China, will in his new role also become CEO of Volkswagen China Technology Company (VCTC) in Hefei in eastern China, the Group's largest development center outside Germany.

Thomas Ulbrich studied automotive engineering at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. In 1992, the graduate engineer began his professional career in plant logistics in Wolfsburg, where he took on managerial responsibilities in 1995. The following year, he took over as Head of Logistics at FAW- Volkswagen in Changchun, China. Two years later, he was given responsibility for "Segment II" assembly at the Wolfsburg plant. From 1999, Ulbrich was head of logistics at the Emden plant.

From 2001 to 2008, he was Technical Managing Director and Spokesman of the Management Board at Auto 5000 GmbH in Wolfsburg. In 2008, he was appointed Board Member for Production at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in Hanover.

In 2010, Ulbrich moved to SAIC Volkswagen in China as Technical Executive Vice President. There, he was in charge of development, production and logistics at a total of five locations.

From April 2014 to January 2018, Ulbrich was responsible for the "Production and Logistics" division as a member of the Volkswagen brand Board of Management. He was then appointed to the Board of Management for E-Mobility. From February 2021, he was Brand Board Member for Technical Development at Volkswagen Passenger Cars and took over the newly created "New Mobility" Board of Management department at Volkswagen Passenger Cars in October 2022, which is now being merged with the "Technical Development" department under the leadership of Volkswagen Head of Development Kai Grünitz. (aum)