Volkswagen CEO Resigns Amid Cheating-on-Emissions Scandal

Volkswagen equipped nearly 3 million cars in Germany with the software that allowed it to cheat on emissions tests, the country’s transport minister said on Friday.

He urged the German auto giant to further clarify the situation and find technical solutions.

Berthold Huber, a labor leader who is the acting chairman of the company’s supervisory board, which appointed Mueller, said during the news conference that the scandal was “a moral and political disaster”.

Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn has resigned following the automaker’s admission that it fitted certain TDI passenger cars with a special device created to manipulate USA emissions tests. On Tuesday VW said the software was installed on as many as 11 million cars worldwide.

The supervisory board is also due to announce a successor as chief executive – likely to be Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller, according to the source.

Amid escalating tensions that German carmaker Volkswagen (VW) is facing, Switzerland has temporarily banned the sale of the company’s diesel-engine models, Swiss Federal Roads office announced on Friday.

Under the Clean Air Act, Volkswagen could be fined as much as $37,500 for each recalled vehicle by EPA, for a possible total penalty of $18 billion.

Winterkorn had come under intense pressure since last Friday’s disclosure from the Environmental Protection Agency that the company had tried to dupe testers over emissions coming from its diesel cars.

The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the matter.

The Volkswagen Group owns automotive brands such as Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, and others. Shares of Volkswagen stock dropped sharply on Monday on news of the company’s problems.

The EPA said Volkswagen had used illegal software during testing, which enabled its diesel cars to emit fewer pollutants compared to actual driving conditions.

Yesterday, Dobrindt said VW had admitted rigging emissions tests in Europe in the same way as it falsified them in the U.S., but it was not known how many vehicles were affected in Europe.