In a statement announced by Porsche, "In the last weeks Wiedeking and Härter have come to the conclusion, that the further strategic development of Porsche SE and Porsche AG is better off, if they are not on board as acting persons." The resignations are effective immediately.

The announcement comes as Volkswagen prepares an 8 million Euro bid to take over the troubled Stuttgart carmaker, which previously had a 51% stake in VW with an additional 20% in options. Wiedeking had previously spearheaded the failed movement to takeover VW, by gradually accumulating more shares while fighting with the government of Lower Saxony about the legality of a full takeover.

However, debt at Porsche swelled to over 10 billion Euros, which forced Porsche to raise capital from outside investors and sell off its sports car division to negate the debt. Porsche has announced plans to raise at least 5 billion Euros, in part from a Qatar-based investment group.

Volkswagen intend to add Porsche to its umbrella of brands, which currently include Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Seat, Scania, Skoda, VW, and VW Commercial Vehicles.

Wiedeking's departure marks the end of an era for Porsche. When he took over the company in 1993, he found himself in charge of a nearly bankrupt firm. He subsequently transformed the Stuttgart firm into one of the most successful automakers in the world, which boasted higher profit margins than any other automaker worldwide.

Porsche executive board member and production chief Michael Macht is expected to fill in for Wiedeking for now.