Volta Trucks, the leading and disruptive full-electric commercial vehicle manufacturer and services provider, has appointed Prof. Dr.-Ing. Karl Viktor Schaller to its Board of Directors. His appointment will be confirmed at the company’s forthcoming AGM.
Karl Viktor Schaller has held many Executive and Board positions within the automotive industry. Most recently, between 2014 and 2019, he was Executive Vice President, Motorcycle Engineering with BMW AG. Before joining BMW AG, he was a Member of the Executive Board and Chief Technology Officer of MAN Truck and Bus, with responsibility for Engineering & Purchasing. In this role, he was responsible for product development, purchasing and planning. Prior to this, Dr. Schaller was Director of the Heavy Trucks business unit at MAN, after having headed various other departments. In these other roles, he led the development of alternative drive systems, including batteries, hybrids, natural gas, hydrogen in internal combustion and fuel cell applications, as well as advanced driver assistance systems, and heavy trucks.
He is currently an Honorary Professor at the Technical University of Munich. He holds a diploma and a doctorate (Dr.-Ing., magna cum laude) in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Munich, having been awarded an honorary professor in 2007. He is a Board Member of Westport Fuel Systems Inc. in Canada.
Announcing the appointment of Dr. Schaller, Douglas Snyder, President of Luxor Capital Group and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Volta Trucks, said: “I am delighted to welcome Karl Viktor Schaller to the Board of Directors of Volta Trucks. His arrival coincides with significant, positive, engineering and manufacturing developments for the company, as we move into the production of the first full-electric Volta Zero prototype vehicles on our production line in Steyr, Austria. And within just a few months, Volta Trucks will start production of customer vehicles, transitioning from a start-up to a vehicle manufacturer. Karl Viktor brings a wealth of engineering and product development experience to the Board that will help us support the Executive team achieve its ambitious goals, and within industry-leading timescales.”
Karl Viktor Schaller continued; “I am excited to join the Board of Volta Trucks and support the company and the other Board members in our journey to a new and carbon-neutral urban delivery system. Having worked for Volta Trucks as a consultant to support the homologation process, I have seen the challenges and outstanding solutions to bring this all to a quality-based production process. In these areas, I am eager to support with 30 years of automotive experience.”