Porsche chief exit could hasten VW merger
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Porsche chief executive Wendelin Wiedeking has resigned, leaving the possibility of a swift merger with Volkswagen (VW) even more likely.
Wiedeking’s exit coincides with that of Porsche chief financial officer Holger Haerter. The former staunchly opposed the merger with rival VW.
He will be replaced by Porsche head of production, Michael Macht. Personnel chief Thomas Edig will step in as Macht’s deputy.
Porsche, which has a 51% stake of VW, has already announced that it would increase its capital by around 5bn euros (£4.3bn).
The VW and Porche boards are expected to meet separately today (23 July) to discuss approving plans for a merger.
In a statement Porsche said: “Wiedeking and Haerter came to the conclusion in the last week that the further strategic development of (parent company) Porsche SE and Porsche AG would be better when they were no longer the responsible people on the board.”
While Wiedeking has been largely credited with transforming Posrche, the luxury German car maker, into one of the world’s most profitable car companies, he now leaves it 10bn euros in debt following failed attempts to take over VW.
Meanwhile, earlier this month in the UK VW launched a summer campaign for its Passat model.
The ads, created by DDB, tells consumers to think positive despite the doom and gloom of the recession.
