VW Denies Report Its Chairman Will Retire Soon

Volkswagen AG declares that Chairman Ferdinand Piech is in "the best of health" and will remain with the company for a long time.

VW denies a report in Germany's Handelsblatt, which cites unidentified sources who say the 79-year-old chairman is ill and plans to retire in coming months.

Piech favors VW CEO Martin Winterkorn to succeed him, according to the Dusseldorf-based business daily. It says that under Piech's plan, VW finance chief Dieter Poetsch would replace Winterkorn for a short time, and Audi CEO Rupert Stadler would follow Poetsch as VW CEO.