Stadler was a close confidant of former Volkswagen Chairman Ferdinand Piech, having worked as Piech's chief of staff before rising to the post of Audi CEO.

Company filings showed that Stadler no longer works for the Ferdinand Karl Beta Privatstiftung, and has also stepped down from the Ferdinand Karl Alpha Privatstiftung.

Stadler's exit from the foundation was requested on Feb. 3, 2017, the filings showed.

(Reporting by Francois Murphy and Ilona Wissenbach; Writing by Edward Taylor; Editing by Maria Sheahan)

Stocks treated in this article : Audi AG, Volkswagen AG