Moreover, federal prosecutors were also are examining whether the company could be charged legally and financially for customers who obtained tax credits when they bought cars they thought emitted fewer pollutants than they actually did, the people familiar with the matter said.
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Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen brand, added, “During his time in the U.S., Michael Horn built up a strong relationship with our national dealer body and showed exemplary leadership during hard times for the brand”. Through mutual agreement with Volkswagen AG, Horn will be leaving to pursue other opportunities effective immediately.
The German automaker said on an interim basis, Hinrich J. Woebcken, a former BMW executive who ran global purchasing among other jobs, is filling Horn’s job.
Horn had been head of the Volkswagen US unit since 2014.
Last year, the company admitted to installing software that allowed almost 600,000 Volkswagen and Audi cars in the U.S.to cheat lab emissions testing. During the initial response to the crisis, Mr Horn was VW’s public face in the USA, apologising days after the scandal became public and testifying before Congress. For the similarly faulty 3.0 TDI V6 engines, the company is working closely with US regulators to evaluate a possible fix. Before the admission that its diesel-powered cars included a so-called defeat device that controlled emissions only during tests, those models made up about 20 per cent of VW sales in the US.
Volkswagen faces an ongoing Justice Department criminal investigation.
VW’s Chief Executive Matthias Mueller told his employees that the emissions scandal will inflict “substantial and painful” financial damage on the carmaker.
Horn was noticeably upset by revelations of emissions-cheating software, and remained candid and optimistic about a rebound for the brand.
“VW has its back to the wall, Horn’s departure is happening at the most inconvenient time”, said Arndt Ellinghorst, an analyst at banking advisory firm Evercore ISI.
VW spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan declined to comment on talks with regulators, but said the automaker “will continue to cooperate with all relevant government agencies”, Reuters said.
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Horn was sent to apologize to consumers at the congressional hearing in October.
