MUNICH -- Audi CEO Markus Duesmann will also head the Volkswagen Group subsidiary's research and development division, two sources told Reuters on Thursday.
Hans-Joachim Rothenpieler, Audi's current R&D chief, will retire, the sources added.
Audi has had three nearly a half dozen R&D chiefs in less than a decade.
Duesmann, a mechanical engineer who was BMW's purchasing chief, became Audi CEO on April 1.
He is tasked with injecting new meaning into the brand's advertising slogan Vorsprung Durch Technik (Advancement Through Technology).
Audi’s reputation as a technology pioneer suffered as its technology began to lag rivals under former CEO Rupert Stadler, a finance executive, and his successor Bram Schot, a sales expert.
New industry disruptors such as Tesla have overshadowed Audi and its German peers BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Audi's role in VW Group's diesel emissions-rigging scandal also damaged its reputation. Audi engineers were accused of creating so-called "defeat" devices used to cheat diesel emissions tests.