Britain orders checks on carmakers after VW scandal

Automotive manufacturer Volkswagen is issuing millions of recalls after it was discovered diesel engines in some models of the German cars contain a software created to deceive emissions testers.

The supervisory board said it would announce Winterkorn’s successor at a board meeting on Friday.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency disclosed Friday that stealth software makes VW’s 2009-2015 model cars powered by 2.0-liter diesel engines run cleaner during emissions tests than in actual driving.

“We don’t yet have figures for how many of these 11 million cars that are apparently affected are in Europe”, he said.

Müller has overseen a period of rapid growth since becoming CEO of Porsche in 2010, including the successful introduction of two sport-utility vehicles.

The company has admitted that diesel engines rigged to mask emissions could be in its New Zealand cars.

Winterkorn, an engineer and former head of Audi, said he was stunned by the scale of the misconduct, and was accepting responsibility to clear the way for a “fresh start” for the company.

South Korea also said it will investigate Volkswagen’s actions.

VW CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned yesterday following a brutal few days for the company’s share price.

Analysts have noted that even without the altered software, the cars would have been compliant with Euro 4 and likely Euro 5 standards in Europe, which are more lenient than the EPA’s emissions rules.

The scandal has smashed the stock at Volkswagen, spawned investigation by the government, brought about lawsuits, called into question the future of the diesel vehicles it carries and raised questions about the knowledge Winterkorn had of the entire situation.

A spokesperson for Germany’s environment ministry said that, for now, authorities there were waiting to see how the United States of America investigation develops.

Dobrindt added: “We will therefore continue to work intensively, together with Volkswagen, to find out exactly which vehicles are involved, in order to inform the public further”.

Dobrindt said random tests will be conducted on various brands.

On Wednesday, Volkswagen AG CEO Martin Winterkorn said he was stepping down from the helm of the company in order to give it a fresh start, though he said he was unaware of any wrongdoing on his part.