Ferdinand Piech
Daniel Naupold | picture alliance | Getty Images
Ferdinand Piech, Volkswagen AG’s former chairman and chief executive who transformed the German carmaker from a regional manufacturer into a global automotive conglomerate, has passed away, German tabloid Bild said on Monday.
Piech, 82, died on Sunday in Rosenheim, Bavaria, the German tabloid said, without citing sources.
A representative for the Piech and Porsche families, who still control a majority stake in Volkswagen through their family holding company Porsche, could not be reached for comment.
Volkswagen could not be reached for comment.
Piech is a grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, the designer of the iconic sportscar and part of the Porsche and Piech clans which today still control the carmaker.
A brilliant engineer, Piech turned around VW after betting on a modular construction technique by sharing common vehicle underpinnings between the various brands within the VW empire.
Under Piech’s leadership, VW added high-margin luxury marques to VW’s volume brands, acquiring the Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini brands in a single year.
Today Volkswagen Group includes the Seat, Skoda, Bentley, Audi, Porsche and Ducati brands in addition to the MAN and Scania truck brands.
