VW Group-owned Audi CEO Rupert Stadler has responded to suggestions that he could be ousted.
"It is not possible to stop that speculation from coming up again and again," Stadler told the German Handelsblatt newspaper, adding that he feels "very clearly" that he has the support of the leadership of Volkswagen.
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German tabloid Bild has reported (last Friday, on its front page) that Stadler will leave Audi in April on the back of his handling of the diesel emissions affair, in which Audi played a prominent role. It said he would move to a new role as VW Group finance chief.
Stadler told Handelsblatt the diesel scandal would continue to plague the company, but also said he and his management team had enough space to focus on the company's future strategy.
Reuters has reported that VW Group chief and Audi Chairman Matthias Muller has appealed to workers to ignore the media report that Stadler is about to be ousted.
"Please pay no attention to the personnel speculation spread by the media, which lacks any foundation," Muller also said in a message sent to Reuters.
