Under any circumstances, the departure of Volkswagen Chairman Ferdinand Piech would have been a tectonic event for the auto industry. Piech's pedigree, experience and legendary ego made him the last of the old-school auto barons; the marriage he arranged between Volkswagen and Porsche reunited the two firms born from his grandfather's most famous vehicles. But that same massive ego — which willed monumental cars, brands and companies into being — was also behind his sudden downfall.
The bewildering showdown between Piech and VW CEO Martin Winterkorn just doesn't add up. Winterkorn's alleged failure to make progress in the U.S. market is hardly a recent development, nor is it one for which he holds special responsibility. And claims that Winterkorn failed to develop a low-cost car don't seem like a plausible stumbling block in his relationship with Piech.
Such an absence of a clear clash on management strategy only deepens the mystery around Piech and Winterkorn's battle for Volkswagen. Piech's 2007 palace coup against Bernd Pischetsrieder put Winterkorn in power, seemingly entrenching Piech's control. Whatever came between the mentor and his prize pupil, it was either so important as to remain totally secret or it was embarrassingly inconsequential. Given Piech's tendency toward imperious grandiosity, the latter can't be dismissed.