Suspended Audi chief executive Rupert Stadler to stand down with immediate effect
Audi chief executive Rupert Stadler is to leave Volkswagen with immediate effect, the car maker has announced.
Volkswagen said on its website that Stadler would no longer serve as a board member for VW or Audi. VW owns brands including Audi, Porsche and Skoda.
The statement read: "The supervisory boards of Volkswagen AG and AUDI AG have today consented to the conclusion of an agreement with Rupert Stadler on the termination of his offices as a member of the board of management of Volkswagen AG and chairman of the board of management of AUDI AG as well as of his service agreements.
"Mr Stadler is leaving the companies with immediate effect and will no longer work for the Volkswagen Group. Mr Stadler is doing so because, due to his ongoing pretrial detention, he is unable to fulfil his duties as a member of the board of management and wishes to concentrate on his defence. The contractual execution depends on the course and outcome of the criminal proceedings."
Stadler was arrested by German prosecutors in the summer in connection with an investigation into the VW emissions scandal.
The scandal erupted three years ago when it was discovered that VW had fitted its cars with devices designed to defeat emissions tests, sparking a barrage of legal claims from customers who said they had been misled and exposed to dangerously high levels of nitrogen oxide.
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