Ferdinand Piëch, Chairman of the Volkswagen Group has resigned after a spat with Chief Executive Officer, Martin Winterkorn.
Piëch’s wife, Ursula Piëch has also resigned from her position on the board. His power struggle with Winterkorn, leading to his resignation, has been long-running and was made public after he told the German magazine, Der Spiegel: “I am at a distance to Winterkorn”. On 17th April this year, Volkswagen’s five-member governing board, which includes Wolfgang Porsche, backed Winterkorn.
Although the German automotive giant is second-largest carmaker in terms of sales behind Toyota, and ahead of General Motors, it continues to struggle in the small-car segment of the money-spinning American market, which seems to be the trigger leading up to this development. In addition to Volkswagen, the group’s umbrella brands include Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Škoda and Seat.
Commenting on the shift in power, Karl Brauer of automotive research group Kelley Blue Book said, “Mr Piëch’s departure represents a seismic shift in Volkswagen’s power structure, and could foretell drastic changes in how one of the world’s largest automakers operates,” Despite his resignation, Piëch and the Porsche family continue to own 51 per cent stake in Volkswagen.
While the Volkswagen Group comes to a consensus about their next chairman, Berthold Huber will assume interim leadership of the board.
