FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A panel of senior supervisory board members at Volkswagen said a loss of trust was to blame for the unexpected departure of Chairman Ferdinand Piech announced on Saturday.
"The members of the steering committee came to a consensus that in light of the past weeks the mutual trust necessary for successful cooperation was no longer there," the six-member panel said in a statement.
Chairman Piech resigned after losing a showdown he provoked with Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn.
(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Georgina Prodhan)