Fred Schulze - Biography

Fred Schulze was born on February 24, 1967, in Gardelegen (Saxony-Anhalt). He studied production technology at the University of Magdeburg, followed by welding engineering.

He has been with the Volkswagen Group since 1993 and began his career at AUDI AG in Neckarsulm. In April 1994, he became Head of Quality Assurance for AB body construction. He then worked at MAN for two years and returned to Neckarsulm in 1998 as Head of Body Construction.

In 2004, he joined Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, where his responsibilities included body construction for the Volkswagen Bus and the Porsche Panamera, before moving to the Volkswagen plant in Emden as Production Manager in 2010.

Schulze first served as Plant Manager at the Neckarsulm site from 2012 to 2015. He then moved to Ingolstadt to serve as Plant Manager there until mid-2016. From 2016 to 2018, he was responsible for the Audi Q models as Product Line Manager.

In 2018, Schulze moved to China, where he served as Executive Vice President for Production and Product Management at SAIC Volkswagen in Shanghai — a joint venture between China’s Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation and Volkswagen AG. 

In May 2021, Fred Schulze returned to his role as Plant Manager at the Neckarsulm site. He was a member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG between September 2024 and June 2026. 

Since July 1, 2026, he has been CEO of Audi and SAIC cooperation and is responsible for the new brand AUDI in China.