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Volkswagen Group Chairman Ferdinand Piech resigns

Ferdinand Piech, Volkswagen Group's chairman of the supervisory board, has resigned from the company. His wife, Ursula, has also left her position on the board. A statement put out by VW in German said the move was due to the fact that "mutual trust is no longer present," and the board's deputy chairman, Berthold Huber, will be interim chairman. It's been just two weeks since Ferdinand Piech told Germany's Der Spiegel magazine that he didn't want Group CEO Martin Winterkorn to become the next chairman and that he was keeping the CEO at a distance. That public comment surprised just about everyone, and led to a meeting in Piech's office in Austria. The leadership committee supported Winterkorn, and that was backed up by official, pro-Winterkorn messages from VW labor leaders and the German state of Lower Saxony. After that meeting, Piech agreed to support Winterkorn in public, but it was widely suspected that the fight wasn't over. Now it might be. This is not a changing, but rather an explosion of the guard. Piech lived for VW, and he and his Porsche kin still have a 51-percent stake in the Volkswagen Group. Frankly, we have a feeling that this still isn't over. The official statement from VW in English is below. Statement of the Executive Committee of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg, 25 April 2015 -- The Executive Committee of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG discussed again today in detail the situation of the Volkswagen Group. 1.: The members of the Executive Committee have unanimously determined that in view of the background of the last weeks the mutual trust necessary for successful cooperation no longer exists. 2.: For this reason Professor Dr. Ferdinand K. Piech has resigned with immediate effect from his position as Chairman of the Supervisory Board and from all his mandates as a Supervisory Board member within the Volkswagen Group. In addition, Ms. Ursula Piech has resigned with immediate effect from all her Supervisory Board mandates within the Volkswagen Group. 3.: The position of Chairman of the Supervisory Board will be temporarily assumed by the Deputy Chairman Berthold Huber. Mr. Berthold Huber will chair both the Supervisory Board meeting on May 4 as well as the Annual General Meeting on May 5, 2015. 4.: Under the chair of Mr. Berthold Huber the representatives of shareholders and employees will in close cooperation determine the candidate for the new Chairman of the Supervisory Board.

Former Porsche boss Wiedeking won't face criminal charges over VW bid

Hedge fund managers have been suing Porsche for years now, alleging that the car company lied about its intentions during its failed attempt to take over Volkswagen, a gambit that caused them billion in losses. Over the same period, authorities in Stuttgart built a criminal case against former CEO Wendelin Wiedeking (above, left) and Chief Financial Officer Holger Härter (right), filing charges in December 2012. When those fund plaintiffs lost their most recent court case, one of the dimming lights in the dark and receding tunnel was that the criminal investigation might unearth more evidence about Porsche's actions that could help the plaintiffs in pending litigation.
Bloomberg reports that another light has gone out, though, with a Stuttgart court dismissing the market manipulation case before going to trial because, as a court spokesperson said, "there wasn't enough evidence backing up the charges." When prosecutors get the files back from the court, they have a week to decide to refile, but unless they've been sandbagging evidence that could bolster the case, the only lights at the end of the tunnel will be those welcoming Wiedeking and Härter back to the world of legally unencumbered men.

How should Volkswagen deal with its diesel problems?

The hounds of hell are bearing down on Volkswagen in the wake of allegations of cheating on diesel emissions testing. In just a single day, Volkswagen's stock has dropped 23 percent and the German government has announced that it is going to investigate a far larger number of vehicles over emissions violations. The American storm is quickly becoming a global one. Volkswagen sells over a million diesel vehicles a year and also has more than 13 percent of the automotive market overall – it was the number one automaker in the world up until the scandal. Yet in a matter of hours, Volkswagen has also become a pariah with potential fines and recalls that may be dwarfed by how the alleged lies and deceit change how governments and consumers view the company. Consumers are really going to be the key to the company's survival. It's those consumers who are really going to be the key to the company's survival. Every single one of them now finds themselves with a product that was sold illegally and may not be registered until recall work is done. What's worse is that Volkswagen doesn't yet have a solution for the emissions issue to offer these customers. It should also be noted that this is not the first time Volkswagen has found itself in violation of EPA emission regulations. Volkswagen is in a world of trouble, so what now? As a car dealer and former financial analyst who took several companies public, I believe Volkswagen can and should consider three points of action that would make an enduring difference in the times to come. 1. Offer affected TDI owners a compelling reason to stay with the brand. Recall work and a cup of coffee at the dealership are not going to be enough to placate current owners. Volkswagen should provide compensation for customers at the earliest opportunity and offer some type of inducement that keeps them within the fold. This shouldn't be the industry's version of a Chuck E. Cheese coupon - a small discount on a new vehicle. Volkswagen needs to offer something along the lines of a strong warranty extension of the entire powertrain (not just the emissions system) or some type of valuable feature upgrade for these vehicles so that owners feel that they have been treated fairly. Perhaps a combination of a brand new navigation system, software upgrades for the infotainment components, or some type of basic free WiFi service would be a healthy act of generosity.