Diess to Replace Mueller as VW Group CEO?

Volkswagen AG’s supervisory board is poised to replace CEO Matthias Mueller with Herbert Diess, who currently heads the group’s VW brand, according to media reports.

VW signaled today that it might replace Mueller, who chairs the company’s management board, as part of a broad effort begun nearly three years ago to restructure management, sweep away the company’s bureaucracy and make VW more agile. The supervisory board is scheduled to discuss the moves on Friday.

In a statement earlier today, the supervisory board says Mueller, 64, has shown “general willingness to contribute” to the plan. He took over as CEO in 2015, two days after Martin Winterkorn resigned the job because of the company’s diesel emission cheating scandal. That’s also when VW announced the first steps in its plan to restructure.

Diess joined VW from BMW AG a few months before the diesel crisis began. Since then he has led the group’s effort to streamline VW brand operations.