The taskforce has been in contact with importers of potentially affected cars, foreign registration offices, including in Germany as well as other Swiss authorities at both the federal and regional leve, the statement said.
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A source close to Volkswagen‘s board said its executive committee would meet on Wednesday to discuss the appointment of US law firm Jones Day to lead an external investigation.
The company later admitted that a total of 11 million diesel cars may have been involved in the emissions cheating scandal.
The close relationship between the German government and the country’s auto industry has been thrown into the spotlight by the Volkswagen scandal. “It badly needs a new company culture but Mueller is anything but a ideal pick to drive change”, said Commerzbank’s Sascha Gommel.
Volkswagen and Audi cars in the US are fitted with a “defeat device” that allows the vehicle to perform more efficiently in the official emissions test than in real-world driving conditions. Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung said a Volkswagen technician raised concerns about illegal practices in connection with emissions levels in 2011.
Separately, Bild am Sonntag newspaper said VW’s internal probe had turned up a letter from parts supplier Bosch written in 2007 that also warned against the possible illegal use of Bosch-supplied software technology.
Volkswagen could face trouble funding leasing deals on new cars as the European Central Bank declined to comment on claims it has put a temporary ban on buying the loans that finance sales of VW cars. But experts say it’s likely to cost much more as VW tries to comply with U.S. clean air regulations while appeasing diesel owners who paid extra for the cars, thinking they could help the environment without sacrificing performance. The spiralling scandal has badly tarnished VW’s name, left it exposed to up to 18 billion dollars (16 billion euros) in United States fines, and wiped a third off its stock market value in a week.
Fraud can carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years in Germany. And money laundering allegations will be explored if investigators suspect that VW sent illicit proceeds overseas.
In a statement on Monday, it said it supported the development of updated testing.
“Volkswagen has a fundamental choice to make”, said Uhlmann, the former prosecutor. “Every indication over the last several days from Volkswagen is that it intends to cooperate”. The company asked for patience and said it would address the issue as fast as it can.
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“Absolutely not”, he said.
