Volkswagen's Dettlef Wittig will become the new chairman of the board at the biggest Czech car maker Skoda Auto, replacing Czech Vratislav Kulhanek, Skoda said on Thursday. Kulhanek will stay at Skoda as its supervisory board chairman, replacing Wittig.
The change will be made on October 1st. Wittig was in charge of finance, sales and marketing at Skoda between 1995 and 2000 before he was named to Volkswagen's board of directors.
The 60-year Kulhanek had indicated his intention to gradually leave business and focus on his new role as the head of the Czech Ice Hockey Association. Skoda Auto is the biggest Czech company and exporter, and together with its suppliers accounts for some 10 per cent of the new EU member's GDP.
Kia, the South Korean car maker, is backing a US reality television show called, appropriately, On the Road. Eight people tour with the band Sugar Ray and compete for a job at Lava Records. "We want to associate ourselves with young, fun, hip things," Peter Butterfield, chief executive of its Kia Motors America offshoot. "Our cars appeal to the young and spirited .... Many people don't know about the image of Kia."
Butterfield says he is happy with the outcome but does have one regret. "Unfortunately I couldn't get on the tour bus," he says. "All of us want to be rock stars."
South Korea's top car maker Hyundai Motor Co reported a hefty 30 per cent rise in June sales, aided by a 44 percent surge in exports to its key US and European markets. Smaller Korean car firms posted more mixed results, underscoring a clear divide between booming exports and sluggish domestic sales.