Volkswagen CEO Says EPA Meeting Will Be “Good” With or Without Result

Matthias Mueller, the CEO of Volkswagen, is proposing a new catalytic converter that will fix the cars affected by the diesel emissions scandal.

In his first United States visit since American regulators said VW cheated pollution tests, Mueller apologized over a scandal that plunged the German auto giant into the deepest crisis of its history and could cost billions in fines, recalls and class-action lawsuits. The patch needs to be approved by the U.S. EPA, with which new VW CEO Matthias Mueller is meeting on Wednesday, Bild said. Before the cheating scandal, Volkswagen was the second largest automaker in the world, second only to Toyota.

Volkswagen says it won’t comment about ongoing USA investigations and the automaker still hasn’t told diesel owners how the emission systems of the cars will be remedied.

But Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the industry-backed Diesel Technology Forum, while conceding that diesel will be “dinged” in the near-term by VW, said diesel cars could still double or triple their U.S. market share due to tougher USA fuel economy requirements. About 11 million cars worldwide have the same software feature. In a statement given by investigators from the U.S., Volkswagen is facing grave sanctions by trying to cover up the scandal, making it harder for investigators to depict which ones actually committed the fraud.

Bloomberg noted Mueller would meet with EPA head Gina McCarthy this week in Washington to try find a way forward.

“Our most important task in 2016 is to win back trust”, Mueller continued.

“It is not just our cars we have to fix”, Müller said, “it’s our credibility”. Notably, federal prosecutors did not go so far as to launch criminal charges against the company or any of the individuals alleged to have been involved, notwithstanding the USA federal government’s recent pledge to increase crack downs on executives responsible for corporate wrongdoing.

Volkswagen also installed the devices in millions of its vehicles globally.

The company’s global sales, encompassing eight brands such as VW, Audi and Porsche, fell 2% from 2014 to 2015 to 9.93 million units.

Senior Volkswagen Group personnel had stayed away from the USA – most notably November’s Los Angeles motor show – over fears of summary legal repercussions.

Mueller reiterated Sunday that Volkswagen is no longer laser-focused on size, saying the company would outline a new 10-year roadmap next year.

The company is showing off an all-new Tiguan GTE Active Concept sport-utility vehicle at the North American International Auto Show.