VW Could Hire Opel CEO To Head Up Audi

Volkswagen could be on the verge of hiring Opel chief executive Karl-Thomas Neumann when the GM-owned automaker is sold to the PSA Group.

Reuters reports that Neumann will leave his post at Opel when the deal with PSA is done, apparently due to his concerns that PSA has under-estimated the future importance of electric vehicles.

Citing unknown sources, German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung says that VW is looking to give Neumann a prominent position within the conglomerate and could land a gig as the chief executive of Audi.

Currently, Rupert Stadler serves as the head of Audi and on May 17 was granted a contract extension through until the end of 2022. However, since then, German prosecutors have widened their investigation into Audi's involvement in the Volkswagen dieselgate scandal and some sources suggest that Stadler won't serve his full term.

Prior to taking up his position at Opel, Neumann served as the CEO and Vice President of Volkswagen Group China from 2010 to 2012.

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