VOLKSWAGEN chief executive Martin Winterkorn will today face the company’s supervisory board to explain his role in the emissions scandal engulfing the carmaker, amid reports his job is on the line. Volkswagen told regulators the discrepancy was due to “various technical issues and unexpected in-use conditions”, according to the EPA letter to the company Friday.
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Germany said it will send an investigative team led by Deputy Transport Minister Michael Odenwald to VW’s headquarters in Wolfsburg this week to speak with officials and examine documents.
In a statement the firm said it intends to, “hold the auto manufacturer accountable for its unlawful conduct that tricked environment-conscious consumers to purchase “clean diesel” vehicles that tested as low emission but in reality did little to protect the environment from air pollution”. The head of Volkswagen issued a video statement Tuesday promising an internal investigation along with a pledge to cooperate with us investigators.
Diesel engines have grown a fan base around the gas mileage they offer and the power they produce, so if VW has to tone down either, that could anger the company’s fans.
“Ladies and gentlemen, millions of people around the world trust our brands, our cars and our technologies”. “I would like to make a formal apology to our customers, to the authorities, and to the general public for this misconduct”.
VW on Tuesday denied that Winterkorn will leave as chief executive this Friday, to be replaced by Matthias Müller, the chairman of its sister company Porsche.
“In order to cover the necessary service and other measures to win back customer confidence, VW plans to set aside 6.5 billion euros in provisions in the third quarter”.
“EPA is talking about a fine of potentially as much as $18 billion, which would be the highest ever levied against an automaker…” “I don’t know how I’m supposed to trust a company that went out of their way to lie”, Levin said.
“Our company was dishonest with the EPA and the California Air Resources and with all of you”.
From the Golf to the iconic VW Beetle, Volkswagen has built a reputation for solid German engineering to last a lifetime at an affordable price.
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The car-owners involved in the lawsuits said they were hooked into buying Volkswagen vehicles wih ads claiming the cars were clean, smart and eco-friendly. Rivals such as Renault, BMW and Mercedes owner Daimler – none of which have been drawn into the scandal themselves – also saw shares fall.
