Jost Capito takes over management of Volkswagen Motorsport

Jost Capito (53) will take over the management of Volkswagen Motorsport effective 1 May 2012. He is following Kris Nissen (51), who will be supporting his successor during the orientation phase and subsequently be available to the Group in an advisory role.

Jost Capito is joining the Volkswagen Group from the Ford Motor Company USA and has been gathering racing experience over several decades, including – among others – in Formula One but also as a co-driver and winner of the Paris-Dakar Rally in the truck classification. Capito, who has a degree in engineering, started his professional career in 1984 as a development engineer for high-performance engines at BMW.

From 1989, he was Head of Carrera Cup Organisation at Porsche and subsequently assumed overall responsibility for all Porsche Cups. From 1996 to 2001, he served in a leading role at Sauber Petronas Engineering and from 1998 was Chief Operating Officer in the Sauber Red Bull F1-Team. At the end of 2001, Capito switched to Ford where he most recently had worldwide responsibility for the performance vehicles and motorsport strategy.

Kris Nissen (51) has been Managing Director Volkswagen Motorsport since 2003 and has achieved important motorsport successes for Volkswagen during this time. Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management for Development of the Volkswagen brand, thanked Nissen for his successful work: “Mr Nissen has advanced Volkswagen Motorsport in a major way, leading the motorsport team in what has so far been its most successful phase. He made a crucial contribution, for instance, to Volkswagen having scored a one-two victory at the 2009 Dakar Rally and making motorsport history with the one-two-three victories at the Dakar Rally in 2010 and 2011.”