FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- The supervisory board of German automaker Daimler AG will extend in April the contract of perennial chief-executive-in-waiting Wolfgang Bernhard by another five years, a source told Reuters.
The 51 year-old, whose contract expires at the end of February 2013, is currently head of manufacturing and procurement at Daimler's passenger car division Mercedes-Benz Cars. He is also a member of the group management board.
Reuters reported in November that Daimler and Mercedes CEO Dieter Zetsche had ruled out handing over the reins of the luxury brand, disappointing some investors frustrated with chronic underperformance compared with other German carmakers.
Daimler declined to comment on issues relating to the supervisory board.