Ferdinand Piech, Chairman of Volkswagen, dismissed a report in the media stating he would be quitting his post at Volkswagen, the largest automaker in Europe, soon. The report was done by Der Spiegel last Friday.
The magazine quoted Piech as saying, "Those who are written off live longer." He added that he plans to take active part in future auto shows in Frankfurt as chairman of Volkswagen.
Handlesblatt newspaper had cited anonymous sources that were close to Piech who said he would be stepping down in the coming months because of 'poor health.' Another reason for the decision, according to the same sources, was that he wanted CEO Martin Winterkorn to succeed him as chairman of the auto company.
The newspaper detailed a specific succession plan where VW Finance head Hans Dieter Poetsch would be succeeding Winterkorn as CEO for an interim period. The position would eventually be filled by Audi CEO Rupert Stadler for the long term.
In response, Spiegel had quoted VW works council chief Bernd Osterloh, "The story is nonsense."
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