Analysts Ponder Piech’s Next Move

Ferdinand Piech resigned as chairman of Volkswagen AG last weekend after losing a bid to abruptly replace CEO Martin Winterkorn as his likely successor. But pundits say Piech, who has ruled VW with an iron hand for more than 20 years, may still try to get his way.

Some observers expect an attempt by Piech to rally the Piech-Porsche families, which control more than 50% of VW's stock, or at least delay or block successor options he doesn't like.

Piech and Winterkorn successfully pushed the company to add brands and boost volume, propelling it from near bankruptcy to the world's second-biggest seller after Toyota Motor Corp. But analysts say the result has been a complex company with serious cost issues, a ponderous new-product development pace and a bloated structure that has become nearly impossible to manage.

Costs also are a problem. Last month Winterkorn said the company aims to reduce annual expenses by €5 billion in three years, beginning with €1 billion in cuts in 2015. One analyst notes that VW employs some 600,000 people to produce slightly fewer vehicles than Toyota makes with about 350,000 workers.