Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller Designates New Management Team

Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller has appointed a new top-level management team to help him run the company in the biggest shakeup at VW since the discovery of the emissions scandal. Meuller has halved the number of managers that report directly to him in a move that he says will "speed up the decision-making process, reduce complexity and increase efficiency."

Volkswagen wants to free up Mueller, who headed Posche before Martin Winterkorn's resignation, so that he can concentrate on overall strategy, which involves drawing up new business targets for the group up to the year 2025, a well as managing the shift toward electrically-powered vehicles.

One of the changes is the return of Ulrich Eichhorn as the new R&D head for VW after three years with German automobile industry association. Eichorn worked with VW before as the Director of Research and was involved with major projects including the VW XL1 and the Bentley Continental V8.