27.8.2019. The Volkswagen group mourns the loss of his long-time management Board and Supervisory Board Chairman, Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Piëch.
In the name of all 660.000 employees Supervisory Board and Board of Directors offer condolences to the families of Ferdinand Piëch, and pay tribute to his great contribution to the Volkswagen group brands and the development of the automobile as a whole.
Hans Dieter Pötsch, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft: “Ferdinand Piëch has written automotive history – as a passionate Manager, a brilliant engineer and a visionary entrepreneur. So he has designed since the 1960s, the development of the automobile, the industry and especially Volkswagen’s global mobility group is decisive, driven and characterized. Our company and its people owe to Prof. Piëch infinitely much the to. We bow with respect in front of his life’s work. We mourn with his family and relatives. And we are with him and his life’s work to preserve, and always in honour and remembrance.“
Dr. Herbert Diess, member of the Board Chairman of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft: “Ferdinand Piëch what brave, enterprising, consistently and technically brilliant. As a young engineer, he has made Porsche the legendary cars such as the 917 and the victory at Le Mans for the racing brand.
Since 1972, he has brought Audi innovations such as quattro all-wheel drive and the TDI engine, technologically forward, and as Chairman of the Board for the premium brand. At the top of the Volkswagen group Ferdinand Piëch has driven the internationalisation of the company consistently, Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti into the group incorporated, and our volume brands through a stringent platform-led strategy for international competitiveness.
He has integrated in Scania and MAN in the group, and thus to lay the foundations for a globally competitive commercial vehicle provider created. Technically, he is gone with his team of developers pushing the limits of what is feasible from the first One-Liter car in the world until the Bugatti Veyron with 1,001 HP. Especially Ferdinand Piëch quality and perfection has brought up in Detail in the automotive industry, and in the back of the Volkswagen DNA. I look with gratitude and great respect to his life’s work.“
Prof. Dr. Piëch began his career in 1972 at Audi AG. Since 1988, he served as Chairman of the Board of Audi AG, before he took over in 1993, the Chairman of the management Board of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft. In 2002, Piëch what the elected Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft. In 2015, he resigned from his mandate within the Volkswagen group.
To the memory of Ferdinand Piëch, were helped in various stations of Volkswagen, including in Wolfsburg and Dresden, the flags on the mast set.
Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Piëch (*1937; † 2019) (photo: Volkswagen AG)
