+++ Volkswagen's top committee avoided discussing a potential contract extension for chief executive Herbert DIESS in a bid to defuse a looming leadership crisis at the world's largest carmaker, a person familiar with the deliberations told. Earlier this week, Diess had demanded a vote of confidence in his reform efforts by asking for an early contract extension even though key stakeholders at the company opposed the move, 2 people familiar with the matter told. "The executive committee will not be pressured into a decision, there is no rush", 1 of the people familiar with the matter said, commenting on the potential contract extension. The executive committee, headed by Volkswagen's chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch, includes Wolfgang Porsche and Hans Michel Piëch, members of the carmaker's owning families who control a majority voting stake, as well as VW labour boss Bernd Osterloh.