It has said some 11 million cars worldwide have the software.
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Alongside Mueller’s appointment, the supervisory board also approved changes to the management structure – aimed, the company said, at scaling back complexity and strengthening brands and regions. He has been Porsche chief executive since 2010 and a member of parent Volkswagen’s management board since March.
He replaces Martin Winterkorn, who stepped down this week following revelations of the auto giant’s manipulation of emission tests for its diesel cars.
Separately, a group of at least 27 USA state attorneys general launched a multi-state investigation of Volkswagen’s representations to consumers about its diesel vehicles, and said it will send subpoenas to the automaker.
In the landscape of recent automotive scandals, Volkswagen’s emissions cheating is particularly cutting precisely because of its intentional nature.
These diesel vehicles have software which manipulates results when they are tested for emissions.
German minister makes claim day after CEO Martin Winterkorn quit over the scandal.
Owners were told they would need to take their cars to a dealer for new software to ensure tailpipe emissions were “optimized and operating efficiently”.
Olaf Lies, economy and transport minister of VW’s home state Lower Saxony, which holds a 20 per cent stake in the company, said the investigation into the scandal was only just starting. Born in Chemnitz in East Germany, he originally trained as a tool maker and then graduated in information technology.
It was Winterkorn who eventually won that battle, only to fall this week over the scandal. “Above all, I am stunned that misconduct on such a scale was possible in the Volkswagen Group”.
They say Volkswagen has not announced any recall, meaning owners of used models affected aren’t getting answers right now.
Pinocchio figures are lined up during a protest by environmental watchdog Greenpeace in front of the …
He also said random tests would be conducted on cars made by manufacturers other than VW.
Volkswagen SEAT unit fitted over 500,000 cars it manufactured with the pollution control defeat device, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported Thursday.
“Many people will want to know which matters more to our Government – the polluters’ profits or the health of their citizens”.
But elsewhere, VW would have to tackle a growing list of legal tangles. Tesla Motors also is expected to unveil its electrically powered Model X on Tuesday, which is said to resemble an SUV.
Volkswagen says it is reorganizing its North America business under Winfried Vahland, until now chairman of the board of directors at Skoda.
The company now faces a mountain of difficulties, from class action lawsuits to fixing the software itself.
But according to last year’s annual report, the company has set aside 28.5 million euros ($32 million) for the retirement of its former chief.
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Standard & Poor’s and Fitch have warned they may cut Volkswagen’s credit rating, which could increase the company’s financing costs.
