UPDATE 1-Former Volkswagen Chairman Ferdinand Piech has died -Bild

Ferdinand Piech, Volkswagen AG's former chairman and chief executive, who transformed the German carmaker from a regional manufacturer into a global automotive conglomerate, has passed away, German tabloid Bild said on Monday.

Piech, 82, died on Sunday in Rosenheim, Bavaria, the German tabloid said, without citing sources. A representative for the Piech and Porsche families, who still control a majority stake in Volkswagen through their family holding company Porsche SE, could not be reached for comment.

Volkswagen could not be reached for comment. Piech is a grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, the designer of the iconic sportscar and part of the Porsche and Piech clans which today still control the carmaker.

A brilliant engineer, Piech turned around VW after betting on a modular construction technique by sharing common vehicle underpinnings between the various brands within the VW empire. Under Piech's leadership, VW added high-margin luxury marques to VW's volume brands, acquiring the Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini brands in a single year.

Today Volkswagen Group includes the Seat, Skoda, Bentley, Audi, Porsche and Ducati brands in addition to the MAN and Scania truck brands.

Also Read: Former Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech has died -Bild