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By Bloomberg

Volkswagen AG Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn, 67, is unlikely to succeed Ferdinand Piech as supervisory board chairman after losing Piech’s confidence, according to German magazine Der Spiegel.

The CEO of the world’s second-largest automaker is encountering growing opposition from supervisory board members due to unresolved issues including an ill-fated U.S. sales strategy and lack of progress in developing a low-cost car, the magazine reported.

“I’m at a distance from Winterkorn,” Spiegel cited Piech, 77, as saying in an interview. VW spokesman Andreas Lampersbach declined to comment on the magazine report.

Piech’s comments come as a surprise as he and Winterkorn have been close confidants for decades. Winterkorn’s appointment as CEO in 2007 accelerated their transformation of VW from a struggling German industrial behemoth squeezed by high labor costs into a global automotive powerhouse with 12 carefully orchestrated brands ranging from Bugatti supercars to Scania heavy trucks.

VW’s strong presence in China and the expansion of the Audi and Porsche divisions in the lucrative luxury-car segment are key drivers for the Wolfsburg, Germany-based group.

The company, Europe’s largest automaker, may snatch the global sales crown from Toyota Motor Corp. as early as this year after reporting record earnings and sales volume last year.