Audi is reshuffling its top management: Martin Sander, currently in charge of sales, marketing and after sales at the Volkswagen brand, moves back to Ingolstadt as the Board of Management member for Sales and Marketing from 1 October 2026. His predecessor, Marco Schubert, is being promoted within the wider group and will take charge of the Volkswagen Group’s North America region. Both changes take effect on the same date.
The Volkswagen Group and AUDI AG have announced two senior appointments at once. Martin Sander is returning to Audi to take over Board of Management responsibility for Sales and Marketing, effective 1 October 2026. He arrives from the Volkswagen brand, where he currently sits on the Board of Management with responsibility for sales, marketing and after sales.
The move is directly linked to a promotion for the man he replaces. Marco Schubert becomes a member of the Extended Executive Committee of the Volkswagen Group for the North American region, taking on overall management of the region and reporting directly to Group CEO Oliver Blume.
A familiar face at the Four Rings
Sander is not a newcomer to Ingolstadt. According to the company, he held various leadership positions at Audi between 1995 and 2022, and brings what Audi describes as many years of international sales and market experience, particularly in Europe and North America. The manufacturer also points to his connections across both Audi and the wider Volkswagen Group.
Audi has not detailed which specific roles Sander held during that earlier spell at the brand, nor has it named a successor for his current sales and marketing responsibilities at the Volkswagen brand.
What Schubert leaves behind
Schubert has been a Member of the Board of Management at Audi with responsibility for Sales and Marketing since September 2024, alongside a seat on the Volkswagen Group’s Extended Executive Committee covering sales, marketing and after sales. His two years in the job coincided with what Audi calls one of the largest model offensives in its history.
Manfred Döss, Chair of the Audi Supervisory Board, credited Schubert with steering that rollout through a difficult market: “Marco Schubert has driven one of the largest model initiatives in Audi’s history under challenging market conditions. He has further developed Audi Sales, placed an even stronger focus on customers and strengthened collaboration with importers and dealers. On behalf of the Supervisory Board, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to him. With Martin Sander, we are gaining an internationally experienced sales and marketing expert who knows Audi very well and brings extensive experience in Europe and North America.”
Jörg Schlagbauer, Deputy Chair of the Supervisory Board and Chair of the General Works Council of AUDI AG, framed the appointment in terms of current trading conditions. “Especially in times of major challenges in international sales markets, strong leaders are needed who provide direction and open up new perspectives,” he said, adding that the works council welcomes Sander “as someone who knows Audi from the ground up”.
Model offensive and core markets in focus
Audi CEO Gernot Döllner set out the priorities for the incoming board member, while thanking his predecessor for realigning sales and for the launch of the group’s new China-focused sister brand, AUDI.
“Our focus now is on successfully bringing our model initiative to customers and further strengthening Audi in our core markets. With his international experience, his deep knowledge of Audi and his strong network within the Group, Martin Sander is the right appointment for this role. I am very much looking forward to working with him again.”
What it means
The reshuffle puts an experienced sales executive in charge of commercialising Audi’s current wave of new models at a point when the brand is fighting for share in Europe, China and North America. It also strengthens the Volkswagen Group’s leadership structure in North America, where Schubert now carries regional responsibility at group level rather than for a single brand.
Both appointments take effect on 1 October 2026.
Source: www.audi.com