The Porsche Automobil Holding SE supervisory board announced after a Stuttgart meeting yesterday that current Volkswagen Group head Martin Winterkorn and chief financial officer Hans Dieter Pötsch will assume duties in these capacities on the Porsche management board with effect from 15 September.By Kyle Kock
The integration of top VW advisors into the Porsche board is the first move by the Wolfsburg-based automotive company after it was announced that Volkswagen would purchase a 42 per cent stake (worth €3,3 billion) in the Stuttgart firm.
This after months of speculation, confirmation, some uncertainty and an ambitious, but ultimately failed attempt by former Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking to increase Porsche’s stake in VW from 51 per cent to 75 per cent – accumulating debt to the tune of $12 billion.
Michael Macht, who initially replaced Wiedeking as CEO of Porsche, will be appointed into Volkswagen AG top management, while Thomas Edig, Porsche AG deputy chairman, will also be appointed to the Porsch SE board of management in an administrative role.
The merger of the two German automotive giants, essentially still controlled by the Porsche and Piëch families, has sparked rumours that the Auto Union name (then the amalgamation of Horch, DKW, Audi and Wanderer) might be revived, which would, in theory, be the new umbrella structure for the brands that fall under the VW Group Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Scania, Scoda, Seat, VW commercial vehicles and Volkswagen passenger cars, with the addition of Porsche AG.
With continued effort, both marques are expected to be fully integrated by the end of 2011.
