(dpa) Herbert Diess resigns as CEO of the Volkswagen Group. The company surprisingly announced on Friday evening that the 63-year-old had agreed with the supervisory board to leave on September 1st. Successor is to be Porsche boss Oliver Blume. The decision was made “mutually”, it said in Wolfsburg.
Blume had long been considered a possible successor to Diess. His name had been mentioned several times behind the scenes when a conflict between the VW boss and the powerful works council over possible new austerity programs escalated last year. Even before that, there had been violent differences of opinion with parts of the supervisory board about the further strategy and about a possible drastic job cut at Europe’s largest car manufacturer.
Blume also wants to lead Porsche in the long term. The Porsche team can rely on that, said Blume, according to a statement on Friday evening. This also applies after a possible IPO. “We have successfully positioned Porsche technologically, economically and culturally,” said Blume. He is very happy to lead Porsche AG and the Volkswagen Group together. The sports car manufacturer is part of the VW Group.
