Volkswagen extends boss Martin Winterkorn's contract until 2018

Martin Winterkorn will remain the boss of Volkswagen until at least the end of 2018, following a resolution taken by the firm's supervisory board today.

In a statement, chairman of VW's supervisory board Berthold Huber said: "Together with Professor Martin Winterkorn at the helm we will continue on our successful path of recent years and systematically implement the goals of Strategy 2018."

There had previously been speculation about whether Winterkorn would remain at the helm of the Volkswagen Group, after he was directly criticised by former board boss Ferdinand Piëch, who resigned in April.

Piëch – a member of the Porsche family – was seen as the VW Group’s main player since he became chairman of the board of VW management in 1993.

In a statement issued at the time of Piëch's resignation, Volkswagen said: "The members of the steering committee came to a consensus that, in the light of the past weeks, the mutual trust necessary for successful cooperation was no longer there.

"Against this background, Professor Doctor Ferdinand K. Piech resigned from his office as chairman as well as all his supervisory board mandates within the Volkswagen group with immediate effect."

Earlier this summer, Volkswagen toppled Toyota to become the world's largest car maker by car sales. The VW group sold 5.04 million cars worldwide in the first six months of this year, compared to 5.02 million units from Toyota.

The resolution to extend Winterkorn's contract will be officially submitted as part of the VW Group's next meeting at the end of this month.