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Winterkorn will leave remaining VW posts by end of the month

After stepping down as chief executive of the Volkswagen Group last month, Martin Winterkorn still retains a few key positions within and related to the German automaker. According to the latest reports, he's set to resign from those positions as well in the coming days. Aside from his former position as chairman of VW's executive board, Winterkorn has also served (and continues to serve at present) as chairman of the supervisory boards of Audi, truck manufacturer Scania (which is owned by VW), and the group's Truck & Bus division (of which Scania is part alongside Man). He's also the chief executive of Volkswagen's largest stakeholder Porsche SE, having taken up the position after the Porsche/Piech family enterprise acquired its majority stake in the group that also subsumed the sports car manufacturer. In what could prove a strong indicator of things to come, and according to the report from Reuters, Winterkorn was not present at a recent meeting of Audi's board. In his place, the meeting was presided over by deputy chairman Berthold Huber. The former labor leader also served as interim chairman of the VW board after Ferdinand Piech's departure but before CFO Hans Dieter Potsch was named to the post. The companies in question have yet to make any announcements regarding Winterkorn's remaining positions, or confirm the reports regarding his future. However parties close to the automaker and its owners reportedly expect the resignations from those positions to come as well before the end of the month, if not before the week is out. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: JOERG KOCH/AFP/Getty Green Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Porsche Volkswagen Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal martin winterkorn Scania truck and bus gmbh

VW XL1 priced at $169,000 in UK, only 30 will be sold there

Volkswagen has announced the pricing of its XL1 diesel plug-in hybrid for the UK, according to Car magazine. The small, uber-efficient two-seater will start at GBP98,515, or roughly $168,930 at current exchange rates. Additionally, only 30 units of the XL1 will be sold throughout the UK, giving it a rareness appropriate for its lofty price. It's nice to finally be able to stop speculating about the XL1's price. Even as recently as the first XL1 delivery in Germany, we were still mostly in the dark concerning the cost of the slippery VW. But is the price worth it, especially considering that the much sportier BMW i8 can be had for just a bit more (GBP99,895, or $171,460, in the UK)? Car seems to think so, noting that the XL1 is an eco and technology pioneer, and saying that its cost of ownership is "merely the price of progress." Plus, that includes the bragging rights of owning the world's most fuel-efficient car. The XL1's two-cylinder turbo-diesel engine displaces just eight-tenths of a liter and produces 47 horsepower. The internal combustion engine operates alongside a 26-horsepower electric motor powered by a 5.5-kWh lithium-ion battery pack. Despite its 2.64-gallon fuel tank, the XL1 has a maximum driving range of over 700 miles thanks to a 261-mpg rating (based on the European cycle). Unfortunately, we won't be able to do any bladder-busting, nonstop Chicago to DC road trips any time soon, as VW has no plans to bring the XL1 to North America - not that one would relish the experience of dicing it up with America's massive trucks and SUVs. If you want to drive one, you'll have to go to Europe, and you'd better have a very large piggy bank you're prepared to break open.

Head of dieselgate clean up set to leave Volkswagen after a year on the job

After just over a year on the job, Volkswagen's compliance chief Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt is set to leave the automaker by the end of the month. In an announcement, Volkswagen confirmed the departure, saying the separation was due to a difference of opinions regarding the role and duties of the compliance chief. Automotive News Europe reports that there were frequent clashes between Hohmann-Dennhardt and senior Volkswagen employees. Hohmann-Dennhardt was brought in on last year to help manage the cleanup in the wake of the diesel emissions scandal. She came over to Volkswagen from Daimler, parent company of Mercedes-Benz. Before that, she served as a judge in Germany's constitutional court. Volkswagen hasn't announced a replacement. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News EuropeImage Credit: Getty Green Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Audi Volkswagen Emissions Diesel Vehicles dieselgate diesel emissions volkswagen diesel