Volkwagen CEO Apologizes Over Emissions Scandal

Head of Volkswagen Group of America, Michael Horn added to prepared written testimony at the start of the congressional hearing to emphasize he was not aware of the company’s intentional deception on U.S. regulatory tests even though he reported hearing about issues with emissions compliance as early as spring 2014 in his written statement, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The CEO of Volkswagen AG announced Wednesday that the company will be launching a recall of their diesel vehicles in January, following the emission scandal that affected up to 11 million of their cars.

Horn told lawmakers the company is trying to work on a fix for the software, but it will take a minimum one to two years to retrofit a few 430,000 cars in the US that can be recalled.

U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, planned to say that Volkswagen would “pay a steep price” for a culture of “cheating and betrayal”.

When the emissions problem was first discovered by United States university researchers previous year, he said, “I had no understanding what a defeat device was. This was something individuals did”, said Volkswagen Group of America CEO Michael Horn, quoted by the Los Angeles Times. Dealers have halted the sale of these third-generation diesels, which account for 25% of Volkswagen and Audi sales in the U.S.

Horn, sitting alone before the committee with folded hands and a furrowed brow, apologised to lawmakers for Volkswagen’s use of a defeat device, and pledged to cooperate with the committee.

The presence of emission-defeat devices may be a breach of the Australian Design Rules under the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989.

After an incredulous Barton expressed doubts that top Volkswagen executives in Germany were unaware of the cheating before September, Horn did not argue.

“For those cars, a software-only solution will not be possible”, Horn said.

Horn apologised for “breaking the trust of customers and stakeholders”, saying: “We at Volkswagen take full responsibility for our actions and we are working with all relevant authorities in a cooperative way”.

“We will fully cooperate with all responsible authorities”, he said.

VW has set aside $7.3 billion to pay for the scandal, but Horn said he is unsure if that will be enough.

In order to secure documents and digital data, police confiscated files and computer hard disks and raided private apartments in the town of Wolfsburg, where the automaker is headquartered. Cars from the 2015 and 2016 model years will only need a software update to be compliant with EPA emissions standards while 2009 – 2014 model year vehicles will need to undergo mechanical upgrades.

He also apologized on behalf of the company.

The so-called defeat devices then turn off pollution controls when the vehicle is on the road, allowing it to spew out harmful levels of toxic gases.