FRANKFURT—Volkswagen AG said it has overhauled most of the personnel in Chief Executive Matthias Mueller's team in the wake of the emissions-rigging scandal that has plagued the company since September.

"These structural changes speed up the decision-making process, reduce complexity and increase efficiency," Mr. Mueller said.

Ulrich Eichhorn, managing director of German automotive industry association VDA, will lead group research and development, while Volkswagen group services' head Fred Kappler takes over group sales, the company said.

Michael Mauer will head group design, in addition to his role as head of design for Porsche AG. Wolfram Thomas, a 35-year Volkswagen veteran, will take charge of group production. In addition, the car maker said Ralf-Gerhard Willner, from Audi, will lead group product and modular tool-kit strategy.

The appointments will take effect in the first quarter of 2016, Volkswagen said.

This autumn, Volkswagen admitted to installing software in about 11 million diesel vehicles world-wide that allowed them to perform better in emission tests than on the road.

Write to Monica Houston-Waesch at nikki.houston@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 17, 2015 06:35 ET (11:35 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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