Volkswagen sacks head of Audi's US operations

FRANKFURT (AFP) - Audi, the luxury car unit of Volkswagen, said it had sacked its US head Axel Mees with immediate effect because it was dissatisfied with its business development in the United States.
The company's target to achieve moderate growth in the US market will not be met this year, an Audi spokesman said.
German business weekly WirtschaftsWoche reported earlier Wednesday that Volkswagen chief executive Bernd Pischetsrieder had sacked Mees after the latter made "disrespectful comments" about VW's former CEO and current supervisory board chairman Ferdinand Piech.
Mees who became head of US Audi last March, was reported to have slammed VW's luxury Phaeton model, designed and launched while Piech was still in charge of the car maker. The Phaeton has not proved as popular as VW originally hoped.
VW, Europe's biggest car maker, earlier had declined to comment on the report.

11/17/2004 - 18:56 GMT - AFP