Witter to Be Volkswagen of America's CEO

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. October 14, 2004; The AP reported that Volkswagen of America Inc.'s chief financial officer, Frank Witter, will become chief executive on Jan. 1, replacing Gerd H. Klauss, who is retiring after six years in the job and three decades in the auto industry.

Witter, who serves as Volkswagen of America's chief financial officer, will assume the title of CEO but not president. A Volkswagen spokesman said there are no plans to fill the position of president.

Klauss joined Volkswagen of America in 1992 as head of Audi of America and became president and CEO in January 1999. His responsibilities include both the Audi and Volkswagen brands in the United States and Canada. He retires Dec. 31.

Volkswagen is the top-selling European car brand in the United States, although sales for the first nine months of 2004 were off 14.7 percent from a year ago, according to Autodata Corp.

Witter will be joined on a new five-person executive board by Len Hunt, leader of the Volkswagen brand; Axel Mees, head of the Audi brand; Kevin Kelly, leader of Volkswagen Credit and Audi Financial Services; and Volker Steinwascher, whose key responsibility will be to facilitate processes between North America and Germany.