According to insiders, the future Volkswagen boss Oliver Blume wants to reduce the size of the group board as one of his first measures.

The company management, which had swelled to twelve members under his predecessor Herbert Diess, has proved to be too large and difficult to coordinate, several people familiar with the considerations told the Reuters news agency.

"There's a lot to rethink about the dual roles," explained one of the insiders.

In the course of the numerous power struggles at Volkswagen, Diess brought some confidants to the board of directors in order to secure his power.

In the end, that wasn't enough either - the Porsche and Piech families, who control the Wolfsburg group through the Porsche holding company, gave Diess a thumbs-up three weeks ago.

His successor Blume, who is to lead the group from the beginning of September in a personal union with the VW subsidiary Porsche AG, is relying on more teamwork.

According to insiders, this could reduce the number of board departments to eight or nine.

But that has not yet been decided.

Neither Volkswagen and Porsche nor the main shareholder Porsche SE wanted to comment on this.

According to group circles, the core team around Blume includes CFO Arno Antlitz, Human Resources and Truck Board Member Gunnar Kilian, Chief Legal Officer Manfred Döss and Thomas Schäfer, who heads the important brand group volume from VW, Skoda and Seat.

Markus Duesmann, who heads the premium group with Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley and the motorcycle manufacturer Ducati, is also considered set.

However, his area of ​​responsibility could change.

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China board member Ralf Brandstätter apparently has questions.

This is still being discussed, said a group expert.

The statements are also inconsistent on the role of IT boss Hauke ​​Stars.

In contrast, the board posts of purchasing manager Murat Aksel and sales manager Hildegard Wortmann are apparently shaking properly.

"One can ask why a purchasing director for the VW passenger car brand must also be represented on the group board," says one of the insiders.

The same probably applies to Wortmann, who, in addition to Audi, also heads the group's sales department.

The extensive range of tasks of the head of technology Thomas Schmall, who is also responsible for the development of the network of battery plants and the marketing of the technology platforms in addition to the group's own suppliers, is also being discussed.

Blume is likely to hand over responsibility for production to the group board of directors in order to get more freedom for his tasks at the top of the group.

The insiders said it has not yet been decided who will take on the task and whether it will remain at the board level.

CFO Arno Antlitz at Volkswagen and Lutz Meschke at Porsche are to help him manage the workload as head of the group and Porsche.

Should Aksel and Wortmann lose their posts, the group's board of directors could shrink to nine people.

A reduction to eight positions is also conceivable.

"There is still a lot in flux," said one of the insiders.

According to company sources, the supervisory board is to meet at the end of September for its next regular meeting.

By then, Blume wants to have his management team together.