Volkswagen AG’s designated North America chief turned down the job in the wake of a management revamp triggered by the diesel-emissions scandal.
Winfried Vahland, a company veteran who currently leads VW’s Czech Skoda unit, decided to not take over the new post as had been planned and will leave the carmaker, Skoda said in an e-mailed statement.
Vahland was among the candidates to succeed former VW Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn, who resigned last month, but the supervisory board favored former Porsche chief Matthias Mueller. Vahland is leaving Wolfsburg, Germany-based Volkswagen at his own request. His departure is unrelated to the investigations into the rigging of millions of diesel engines worldwide, Skoda said in the statement.