Today, on July 8, 2025, the Bonn-based Central Association of the German Motor Vehicle Industry (ZDK) appointed its new president during a virtual general meeting. Thomas Peckruhn succeeds Arne Joswig, who recently announced his immediate departure from office due to family reasons.
Peckruhn professionally manages the Autohaus Liebe Group, which is represented in nine locations across Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Saxony, and Lower Saxony. In 2005, the 63-year-old head of the Sangerhausen car guild
and board member of several German automotive regional associations joined the ZDK board, and in 2017, he was appointed vice president there.
"A strong ZDK is needed in Berlin and Brussels," said the newly appointed president, now serving for the remainder of the current term until summer 2026, in his statement on the election.
"I am looking forward to the task ahead of me and to contributing to ensuring that the ZDK,
as an established organization, can actively help shape the mobility of the future."
The new vice president succeeding Peckruhn is 64-year-old Michael Kraft, who will continue to function as the ZDK's treasurer. For this, the graduate industrial engineer was removed from his function as the treasurer of the Central Association of the Motor Vehicle Trade (ZVK), which he also previously held, a day before his appointment as ZDK vice president.
Additionally, the
departure of board members Johann Gesthuysen and Dirk Weddigen von Knapp is announced, with the result of the general meeting being that the managing director of the Ford Partners' Association, Fabio Krause, and the chairman of the Volkswagen and Audi Partners' Association, Alexander Sauer-Wagner, will succeed them.
The ZDK politically represents the interests of around 39,200 branded and independent car dealerships, bodywork, and motor vehicle master workshops in Germany in Brussels and
