Volkswagen’s head of technical development operations, Dr Matthias Rabe, is to become chief technology officer of Volkswagen Passenger Cars as of February. Under the leadership of Dr Frank Welsch, board member for technical development, Rabe will be responsible for steering the creation of new vehicles and technologies for the brand.
Rabe takes over these responsibilities from Welsch, who will now concentrate on research and development at the Volkswagen Group in his role as CTO there. This will cover design, concepts and strategy within technical development.
Rabe, 57, holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering and has many years of experience in senior management posts within the Volkswagen Group. First, he was head of chassis and electrical development in Shanghai, China, before assuming responsibility for group research at Volkswagen and subsequently being appointed head of body development at the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand. He was then appointed executive VP for research and development at SEAT in Martorell, Spain, before returning to Wolfsburg, Germany, to take on the role as head of technical development operations at Volkswagen Passenger Cars in March 2019.