Winterkorn’s resignation followed a meeting of key Volkswagen shareholders and union leaders, who raised questions about the scandal and mulled ways to tide over the crisis.
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We don’t have to worry about 68-year-old Martin Winterkorn.
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that Volkswagen has used software that can lower harmful emissions such as nitrogen oxide (NOx), which are strictly regulated, when a auto is being tested.
Analysts have noted that even without the altered software, the cars would have been compliant with Euro 4 and likely Euro 5 standards in Europe, which are more lenient than the EPA’s emissions rules.
Dobrindt added: “We will therefore continue to work intensively, together with Volkswagen, to find out exactly which vehicles are involved, in order to inform the public further”. The Justice Department announced on Monday that it plans a criminal investigation of the case.
The software was installed in more than 11 million vehicles around the world, the company said.
U.S. Volkswagen had sent letters of warning to California owners of diesel-powered Audis and Volkswagens, mentioning about an “emissions service action” affecting their vehicles in April 2015. He said cars made by other manufacturers, including Germany’s BMW brand, would also be checked. But he said he had no reason to suspect French carmakers of wrongdoing.
“It is premature to comment on whether any specific immediate surveillance measures are also necessary in Europe and [on] the implications for vehicles sold by Volkswagen in Europe”, said a spokesperson for the European Commission.
“I have always been driven by my desire to serve this company, especially our customers and employees”.
Michael Horn, Volkswagen’s U.S. boss, may also depart in the clear-out.
The Volkswagen Group is based in Wolfsburg, Germany.
Four VW and Audi-branded models, the VW Beetle, Jetta and Golf and the Audi A3, are subject to a government probe.
Earlier this year, Volkswagen surpassed Toyota as the world’s biggest carmaker.
On Monday, he appeared at an event in New York to introduce the 2016 Volkswagen Passat and acknowledged that the company “totally screwed up”.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the issue “difficult”.
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Norway’s economic crimes unit reportedly opened an investigation into the company on Friday. He is backed by a majority of the board and looks certain to be appointed, Reuters reported.
