VW shelves North American reorganization for now


              FILE - In this Sept. 24, 2015, file photo, the grille of a Volkswagen car for sale is decorated with the iconic company symbol in Boulder, Colo.  J.D. Power says Volkswagen Group's sales are expected to be flat in October, 2015, even as sales for the U.S. auto industry climb 8 percent toward what could be of the best Octobers in more than a decade. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 24, 2015, file photo, the grille of a Volkswagen car for sale is decorated with the iconic company symbol in Boulder, Colo. J.D. Power says Volkswagen Group's sales are expected to be flat in October, 2015, even as sales for the U.S. auto industry climb 8 percent toward what could be of the best Octobers in more than a decade. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)

Volkswagen has shelved plans to reorganize the management of its North American business and will not address its future strategy there until it has reached legal agreements over its rigging of emissions tests, two sources told Reuters.

Volkswagen had picked group veteran Winfried Vahland as its top executive for North America as it pushed a decentralization policy - before the diesel emissions scandal erupted - but the former Skoda boss quit VW three weeks later.

The sources told Reuters that the carmaker had no plans to appoint a new head for North America until it had survived the legal assault in the United States by coming to agreements with plaintiffs and regulators, adding that this could take months.

The carmaker could go as far as to stop selling VW brand diesel models in the United States, should it incur heavy regulatory and financial penalties, another source said. VW brand's diesel models accounted for 22 percent of last year's 366,970 U.S. deliveries.

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