Piech Rules out Winterkorn as VW Chairman

Volkswagen AG CEO Martin Winterkorn's chances of succeeding Chairman Ferdinand Piech have vanished, according to Der Spiegel, which cites unnamed sources.

The two men have worked closely together at VW for more than 30 years. But their relationship has become "disturbed," executives tell the newspaper. It quotes Piech as saying he has "distanced" himself from Winterkorn.

The employment contracts for Winterkorn and Piech will expire at the end of 2016 and in April 2017, respectively. Until now Winterkorn was widely expected to step into the chairmanship.

Piech tells Der Spiegel his replacement should be an engineer already working for the group. He rules out his wife Ursula, who is a member of VW's supervisory board, or any other member of the Porsche-Piech families, which own 53% of VW shares.

Winterkorn has been credited with transforming VW into a global powerhouse. But critics complain the VW brand he also leads has been slow to trim costs, rebuilt its presence in the U.S. and develop a low-cost car for emerging markets.