POAHY Porsche Automobile Holding SE (PK)

By Sarah Sloat 

FRANKFURT--A German court appointed Hans Dieter Pötsch to the supervisory board of Volkswagen AG as expected Wednesday, allowing the board to name him chairman at a critical moment for the car maker.

The supervisory board is meeting Wednesday, where it is likely to make his chairmanship official. Mr. Pötsch previously served as Volkswagen's chief financial officer. That position will now be taken by Frank Witter, who leaves his post at Volkswagen Financial Services AG, as announced last week.

Volkswagen has been in turmoil since mid-September when U.S. environmental authorities said the company used software in some vehicles to dodge pollution standards. Volkswagen now faces the biggest recall in its history, having admitted the software was installed in nearly 11 million vehicles.

Volkswagen is due to present technical fixes to authorities in Germany Wednesday, the country with the most affected vehicles. The car maker will launch the world-wide recall in January, and plans to tie it up by the end of 2016, a spokesman said.

The scandal forced Martin Winterkorn to resign as chief executive in September, and Volkswagen has suspended a number of engineers while it investigates who is responsible for the crisis. Mr. Winterkorn was replaced by Matthias Müller, former CEO of Porsche AG, Volkswagen's sports car division.

Mr. Müller has said it could take time to uncover the roots of the crisis. On Tuesday, he also said the EUR6.5 billion ($7.27 billion) provision Volkswagen set aside won't cover all the costs that will result from the misconduct, and the car maker will hold off on nonessential investments.

The chairman position of the supervisory board was vacated before the scandal erupted. Ferdinand Piech stepped down in April after a failed attempt to oust then-CEO Winterkorn. The deputy chairman of the supervisory board, Berthold Huber, has since served as interim chairman.

Mr. Piech and his cousin Wolfgang Porsche own the majority of Volkswagen's voting rights via the holding company Porsche SE. The cousins have been firm supporters of Mr. Pötsch's appointment.

Write to Sarah Sloat at sarah.sloat@wsj.com

Access Investor Kit for "Volkswagen AG"

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=DE0007664039

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 07, 2015 06:50 ET (10:50 GMT)

Porsche Automobile (PK) (USOTC:POAHY)
Graphique Historique de l'Action
De Juin 2024 à Juil 2024

Porsche Automobile (PK) (USOTC:POAHY)
Graphique Historique de l'Action
De Juil 2023 à Juil 2024