By William Boston and Friedrich Geiger
SHANGHAI--Key Volkswagen AG shareholders sought to cool down the
debate about the company's supervisory board and chief executive
after a spat over its leadership unsettled Europe's largest car
maker.
"All important persons involved endeavor to make the situation
more objective," said a spokesman for Porsche SE on Sunday. Porsche
holds the majority of Volkswagen voting rights and is dominated by
the Piech and Porsche families.
Volkswagen's leadership had been the subject of heated
discussions in recent days, after Chairman Ferdinand Piech
expressed a lack of confidence in Chief Executive Martin
Winterkorn. But other key members of the supervisory board issued a
strong endorsement of Mr. Winterkorn on Friday, triggering
questions about the future of Mr. Piech.
On Sunday, however, a person close the companies said, "I can't
imagine that the way will be to vote out Piech" of his office as
chairman. The Porsche and Piech families have always acted in
concert, he said.
Write to William Boston at william.boston@wsj.com and Friedrich
Geiger at friedrich.geiger@wsj.com
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