Volkswagen names Mueller CEO amid emissions “disaster”

“We have been informed that also in Europe, vehicles with 1.6 and 2.0 litre diesel engines are affected by the manipulations that are being talked about”.

German rival BMW said on Thursday it had not manipulated tests, after a magazine reported some of its diesel cars were found to exceed emissions standards.

A commission appointed by Dobrindt is conducting inquiries at Volkswagen’s headquarters in Wolfsburg.

Moreover, on Thursday, at least 27 U.S. state attorneys general initiated a multi-state investigation of the company over its representations to consumers of its diesel vehicles, a spokeswoman for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan told Reuters.

Wintercorn denies knowledge of the scandal, but Volkswagen finally admitted that EPA defeating software does exist in some 11 million vehicles globally and in 482,000 VWs in the US.

Martin Winterkorn who stepped down as CEO of Volkswagen on Wednesday could receive a €60 million golden handshake from the scandal-hit vehicle manufacturer.

VW’s executive board said yesterday it expected “further personnel consequences in the next days”, and that “all participants in these proceedings that has resulted in unmeasurable harm for Volkswagen, will be subject to the full consequences”. Volkswagen, a symbol of Germany and a major contributor to its rapid economic growth, is undergoing a leadership shakeout barely a week after its deception was brought to light September 18 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

According to the statement, Mueller who is also a member of Board of Management of Volkswagen AG will act as the CEO VW Group until the end of February 2020.

Though Winterkorn oversaw a doubling in sales and a near tripling in profit in his eight year rein, he faced criticism for the company’s underperformance in the United States and for a micro-managing style that critics say delayed model launches and hampered its ability to adapt to local markets. They are among VW’s highest-ranking engineers.

Osterloh, who also sits on the supervisory board, said, “We need for the future a climate in which problems are not hidden but communicated openly to superiors”.

Regulators in Europe and Asia had already said they would investigate Volkswagen and other carmakers, and Volkswagen also faces criminal inquiries and lawsuits from cheated customers.

Volkswagen will start firing people responsible for manipulating the tests on Friday, sources told the Reuters news agency. It said that so-called defeat devices have never been used by the company, and that goes for all diesel and gas engines.

Winterkorn says he was not aware of any wrongdoing. Three more executives are facing the sack.

“We are getting lots of phone calls asking ‘What is the likely impact of this?'” said an insider at a major Volkswagen dealership in Britain, who declined to be named. “This is what these types are driven by”, Hanold said.