Volkswagen awards top management 63.24 million euros in remuneration

WOLFSBURG, GERMANY: Volkswagen's said it plans to pay the 12 current and former members of its management board 63.24 million euros ($71.8 million) for 2015, a year when Europe's largest carmaker posted a record loss due to legal and compensation costs for cheating diesel emissions tests.

The company withheld part of bonus payments but will award them at a later date if certain performance criteria are fulfilled, including a recovery of the Volkswagen's share price.

Chief Executive Matthias Mueller has been pledged 4.76 million euros in total compensation for 2015, of which 880,522 euros has been deferred, the company's annual report shows.

That's less than departed Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn, who received 7.31 million euros in fixed and performance related pay, less than the 15.86 million euros he was awarded a year earlier. Winterkorn agreed with VW to defer payment of 30 percent of his variable remuneration.

Hans Dieter Poetsch, who moved from the role of chief financial officer to chairman of the supervisory board received 5.18 million euros for his work as CFO, and a further 13.4 million euros in fixed pay for his new job as supervisory board chairman.

Poetsch waived 2.3 million of his variable remuneration.