Porsche chief Mueller to take the wheel at Volkswagen

The head of German luxury sports car maker Porsche, Matthias Mueller, has been picked to succeed Martin Winterkorn as the chief executive of scandal-battered auto giant Volkswagen, the business daily Handelsblatt reported on Thursday.

In an article to be published in its Friday edition, the newspaper said 62-year-old Mueller has been chosen to take the driving seat vacated by Winterkorn yesterday as a consequence of the global pollution cheating scandal that has rocked the automobile sector over the past week.

Senior members of the company’s supervisory board had agreed on the choice of Mueller, the report said, quoting two sources close to the board. The full 20-member board would meet on  Friday morning to approve the appointment.

Born in Chemnitz in former East Germany, Mueller originally trained as a tool maker and then graduated in information technology. Appointed CEO at VW’s sports car maker Porsche in 2010, Mueller enjoys the backing of the group’s family shareholders.