VW Group CEO Winterkorn gets thumbs up from panel

Martin Winterkorn, CEO of Volkswagen Group, is "the best possible CEO of Volkswagen," the leadership committee of the automaker's supervisory board said today, rejecting a challenge by VW board chairman and powerhouse Ferdinand Piech.

In a magazine interview a week ago, Piech said he had distanced himself from Winterkorn, 67, with whom he had been close. A furious tussle ensued inside Europe's biggest automaker.

An emergency meeting was held Thursday in Austria to settle the matter.

The six-member committee that declared for Winterkorn includes Piech, meaning his influence on the issue of CEO was weak.

The committee said it will propose that the full supervisory board extend Winterkorn's contract beyond the current February 2016 end date.

The committee issued a statement saying, "The Executive Committee places great importance on the fact that Prof. Dr. Winterkorn will pursue his role...with the same vigor and success as before, and that he has the full support of the Committee in doing so."

VW, the world's No. 2 car company by sales, has reported record profits under Winterkorn, but some analysts have criticized its expenses. And, a minor by thorny point, its planned growth in the U.S. has flopped, as the VW brand hit a void between new models. Now, new versions of the Golf are on the market and more variants are rolling out.

Two new SUVs are due in the next two years, at a time when U.S. buyers are turning again to SUVs instead of sedans.

Now the spotlight is on the future of Piech, 78 today. The leadership committee's thumbs up for Winterkorn means Piece held no sway, and that could put pressure on Piech to move aside. The committee made no statement about Piech, though.

Piech is a member of one of the two families that own most of VW Group, Together, the Piech and Porsche families control 51% of VW's voting shares. That doesn't' give them control over executive appointments, though.

Those decisions are made by the 20-member supervisory board, on which employee representatives hold 50% of the seats, and Lower Saxony, where VW headquarters is located, has two seats.

Besides Piech, the others on the six-member committee that supports Winterkorn:

•Wolfgang Porsche, Piech's cousin and a representative of the other shareholder family.

•Bernd Osterloh, head of what VW calls its works council that represents employees.

•Stephan Wolf, Osterloh's No. 2,

•Berthold Huber, representing the IG Metall union

•Stephan Weil, Prime Minister of Germany's Lower Saxony.