FRANKFURT, June 22 (Reuters) - Europe's biggest carmaker Volkswagen said on Sunday it would not appoint a new executive in charge of group-wide sales and marketing and instead hand responsibility for sales to the heads of VW's brands.
The widely expected move is part of a reshuffle of executive responsibilities at the German group under VW Chief Executive Bernd Pischetsrieder, the ex-BMW boss who took the helm at VW last year.
A spokesman for the group said the step, which has yet to be approved by the supervisory board, would leave responsibility for sales with the heads of VW's brands, including Audi, Skoda, Lamborghini, SEAT, Bentley and Volkswagen itself.
The group's last sales and marketing director Robert Buechelhofer left over a dispute about marketing in April. His relationship with Pischetsrieder has been tense dating back to their time at BMW, and he was said to be one of the executive's harshest critics within the company.