Volkswagen AG's supervisory board on Friday approved the selection of Martin Winterkorn to be chief executive as part of its big management restructuring, local reports said.

Bernd Pischetsrieder will continue as CEO of Europe's biggest automaker until the end of the year before being replaced by Winterkorn, who is currently head of VW's luxury car unit Audi AG.

The decision by the board was widely expected. Some analysts say some members of the board had forced the resignation of Pischetsrieder last week.

Volkswagen also said it had not decided who would replace Winterkorn as head of Audi AG.

There was no immediate word whether Wolfgang Bernhard, who heads the company's VW brand was asked to step down or if he would stay on under Winterkorn but there is wide speculation that Bernhard, viewed as a rival to Winterkorn, might leave and serve for a US auto group.

Shares of VW fell 2.3 percent to 83.50 euros (106.66 U.S. dollars) in Frankfurt trading after the meeting.

Source: Xinhua