There are signs that Volkswagen group supervisory board chairman Ferdinad Piëch is already pulling strings, and wielding considerable power.
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According to Automobilwoche, Piëch is taking considerable interest in the brand’s future model programme now that VW brand head Wolfgang Bernhard is on the way out. In particular Piech wants the brand to return to the premium-positioning course he set when he was chairman of the management board (1993-2002; he was the force behind the top-of-the-line Phaeton sedan).
Top VW management told Automobilwoche that Piëch wants the Tiguan SUV out at the end of the year, including a top-line version with the Audi S3’s TFSI engine (265hp), to compete with the BMW X3. He also wants a prestige petrol V6 in the 2008 Scirocco, underlining that sought-after premium positioning.
Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking also wants to increase influence at VW. He is calling for a third Porsche representative on the 20-strong Volkswagen board but, according to dpa-AFX, sees Piëch only as Volkswagen’s man there.
Meanwhile, former group chief executive Bernd Pischetsrieder will remain at the group – on a salary of over EUR2m – until his contract ends in 2012.
Officially, Pischetsrieder is overseeing the merger of Scania and MAN but, according to dpa-AFX, he will rarely need to work more than a day a week.
