COMMENT: Piech snatches defeat from the jaws of victory

Ferdinand Piech has resigned from his post as Chairman of Volkswagen Group, and he and his wife Ursula Piech have resigned from all mandates within Volkswagen.

The news comes 15 days after Piech made the surprise comment to German magazine Der Spiegel that, “I’m at a distance from Winterkorn”. After almost a week of uncertainty across the automotive and investor communities as to the implications of this comment about Volkswagen Group Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn, the VW Board's Executive Committee met in Salzburg on 16 April, with Martin Winterkorn in attendance, to resolve the situation.