Its two main shareholders, the Porsche and Piech families, are interested in increasing control over the Volkswagen group, according to well-informed sources cited by Reuters news agency. Porsche and Piet control the Porsche SE holding company, which owns the majority of voting rights in Volkswagen, the Old Continent’s largest automaker. In addition, they seek to bring the group back to a lull in general. This was preceded by several years of turmoil under outgoing CEO Herbert Diess, who, despite significant progress at Volkswagen, also caused conflict with management stakeholders. Speaking to Reuters, a person familiar with the thinking of the Porsche and Piech families notes that they now “want to follow the company’s strategic direction more closely.”

Under the leadership of Herbert Diess, the German automotive industry took major steps towards electrification. However, his lack of diplomacy has provoked backlash in Volkswagen’s inner circle several times, overshadowing his accomplishments and testing the resilience of shareholder families, one source said. “The Piech and Porsche families are taking an active part in what is happening, although for a number of years they thought that they did not have such an opportunity,” said a second source. The active involvement is evidenced by a change in leadership that sees Oliver Blume become the next CEO of the Volkswagen Group (with its 12 brands including Porsche). Oliver Blume is also the head of Porsche and will remain in both positions even after the planned IPO. However, this choice has caused discontent among some shareholders, although he is considered an ideal candidate for the two dominant families. In addition, the long-awaited initial public offering of Porsche shares is expected to be successfully completed.

New CEO and strengthening of the role of the company’s two main shareholders, the Porsche and Piech families.

This process is of great importance for the Porsche and Piech families, as they will again become direct shareholders of the Porsche company after it was taken over by the Volkswagen Group in 2009. Previously, Porsche tried to buy Volkswagen, but his plan fell through. “The initial public offering structure for Porsche’s initial public offering also serves the interests of families to have more control over them,” said Hendrik Schmidt, corporate governance specialist at DWS, which owns shares in Volkswagen and Porsche SE. . Finally, it’s worth mentioning that the public offering structure, which has yet to be officially confirmed, will give the Piech and Porsche families a minority stake with veto power in the Porsche automaker. The latter, whose name is associated with the concept of luxury and fast cars in Europe, was founded by Ferdinand Porsche in 1931, the common ancestor of Piech and Porsche.