VW says will quit world rallying championship in 2017

[November 02, 2016]    BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen <VOWG_p.DE> said it will pull out of the world rally championship at the end of the season in 2017 as part of a strategic shift to help overcome its emissions scandal.

Volkswagen Motorsport ll's Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jaeger during SS2 at Sweet Lamb Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Peter Cziborra Livepic

"The VW brand is facing tremendous challenges," VW brand R&D chief Frank Welsch said on Wednesday, citing the carmaker's push into zero-emission technology.

Top executives and labor leaders are aiming to agree a cost-cutting plan and strategy for the VW brand's operations in Germany in time for a meeting of the carmaker's supervisory board on Nov. 18 to ratify future spending plans.

The decision follows a similar move by VW's luxury flagship Audi which last week announced it was pulling out of the World Endurance Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours race.

(Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Christoph Steitz)

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