The company in September admitted to have cheated on US diesel emissions tests with the help of software installed in engines.
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The company is embroiled in two, separate scandals, regarding the use of devices to cheat both nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide tests.
But he added: “We are talking here not about a one-off mistake but a chain of errors”.
Almost 600,000 vehicles have been affected in the USA, including the Audi A6 and Q5, which are under VW’s umbrella. In addition, Volkswagen announced that it will create a new committee, responsible for authorizing new emissions software in the future.
Mueller and Poetsch said it was still too soon to pinpoint exactly who were the masterminds behind the scam.
Poetsch confirmed the company had suspended nine managers for possible involvement in the scandal.
“Overall, the situation is not dramatic, but, as was to be expected, it’s tense”, said the 62-year-old.
Mueller would appear alongside VW’s new supervisory board chief Hans-Dieter Poetsch.
“There is no doubt that on the one hand there were weaknesses in our procedures… and on the other hand we had an attitude of employees in middle management that was, as we say today, “non-compliant”, Mueller told Germany’s ARD TV.
External auditors have already gone through 102 terabytes of data, which he said was the equivalent of 50 million books. “We still believe that only a comparatively small number of employees was actually actively involved in the manipulations”.
The scandal caused a massive shakeup atop Europe’s largest automaker. Figures for the European Union are due next week.
No specific details of the package for the 1.2million United Kingdom vehicle owners was confirmed, though Mueller said it wouldn’t just be U.S. drivers who received compensation.
He suggested that the company was not considering any cuts to fulltime jobs, but that it might have to shed some workers with fixed-term contracts. He said tips from about 100 whistle-blowers didn’t open any new fronts in the scandal.
Mueller also said Volkswagen’s finances are strong enough that the company does not have to consider selling any assets to cope with the predicted €6.7 billion costs of the scandal. Shares in Volkswagen were 2.5 percent down by late morning. The costs associated with the scandal – fixing the cars, paying fines, dealing with legal challenges – were estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars.
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VW did say that all future admissions tests will be evaluated externally and independently.
