* VW to split management into subgroups – source
* VW, Skoda, Seat to belong to volume brand group – source
* Porsche, Bentley, Bugatti to form super premium group – source
* Audi to remain an independent premium group – source
* VW Trucks to form another group – source (Adds detail on new vehicle categories)
FRANKFURT, April 12 (Reuters) – Audi may be excluded from a shake-up of Volkswagen’s portfolio of brands, with Rupert Stadler likely to remain the premium carmaker’s chief executive, a VW supervisory board source said on Thursday.
The Volkswagen boards are due to meet on Thursday to discuss the most far-reaching reforms in the company’s history, a step which will include a change in the way brands are managed, sources told Reuters.
Volkswagen may create a ‘super premium’ brand group which includes Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti, with Audi solely in the ‘premium’ group, the source said.
Besides the ‘volume’ brand group that includes VW brand, Czech division Skoda and Spanish unit Seat, there will be a ‘commercial vehicles’ category that includes the MAN and Scania heavy-truck brands and VW’s van division, the source said. (Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach and Jan Schwartz Editing by Edward Taylor Editing by Arno Schuetze/Keith Weir)