Former Volkswagen Chairman Ferdinand Piech has died

Ferdinand Piech, Volkswagen AG’s (VOWG_p.DE) former chairman and chief executive, who transformed the German carmaker from a regional manufacturer into a global automotive conglomerate, has passed away, German tabloid Bild said on Monday, Trend reports citing Reuters.

Piech, 82, died on Sunday in Rosenheim, Bavaria, the German tabloid said, without citing sources.

A representative for the Piech and Porsche families, who still control a majority stake in Volkswagen through their family holding company Porsche SE, could not be reached for comment.

Volkswagen could not be reached for comment.

Piech is a grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, the designer of the iconic sportscar and part of the Porsche and Piech clans which today still control the carmaker.

A brilliant engineer, Piech turned around VW after betting on a modular construction technique by sharing common vehicle underpinnings between the various brands within the VW empire.

Under Piech’s leadership, VW added high-margin luxury marques to VW’s volume brands, acquiring the Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini brands in a single year.

Today Volkswagen Group includes the Seat, Skoda, Bentley, Audi, Porsche and Ducati brands in addition to the MAN and Scania truck brands.