Toni Schmücker

Toni Schmücker (23 April 1921 in Frechen – 6 November 1996 in Bergisch Gladbach) was the fourth chief executive officer of the Volkswagen automobile company (Volkswagenwerk AG), following the handover of the company in 1948 to German control from the British, who had administered the VW factory in Wolfsburg, Germany after the Second World War ended.

Schmücker's automotive experience came from a long successful career with Ford at Cologne where he began his career as a commercial apprentice when aged 16. He returned to Ford in 1946, following his military service, working successively in the sales, finance and export departments. his authority within the company was also enhanced by the extent of the financial crisis that directly preceded his appointment and which had appeared to place the very survival of the business in doubt. At the time of Schmücker's assumption of the job, Volkswagen had just staved off bankruptcy with the introduction of the Volkswagen Golf (marketed as the Rabbit in North America and as the Caribe in Latin America), which would eventually replace the Volkswagen Beetle. One of Schmücker's first achievements at Wolfsburg involved reducing the Volkswagen workforce by 25,000 employees during 1975, applying, in the words of a contemporary industry commentator, methods and systems he had learned at Ford.

After suffering a heart attack in 1981, Schmücker was forced to resign the following year, and was succeeded by Dr. Carl Hahn.