Volkswagen CEO Professor Dr. Winterkorn resigns following emissions scandal
Volkswagen has announced 1,189,906 of its vehicles in the UK are affected by the diesel emissions scandal.
VW has admitted that 11 million of its diesel vehicles worldwide were fitted with defeat device software to deceive testers into believing their vehicles met environmental standards.
Once on the road the cars produced nitrogen oxide pollutants at up to 40 times the legal standard.
It includes diesel-powered cars with the VW brand – Audi, Seat and Skoda as well as VW commercial vehicles.
In the wake of the Volkswagen emissions scandal dubbed ‘dieselgate’, it’s CEO Professor Dr. Winterkorn has resigned issuing a statement denying any personal wrongdoing.
Prof. Dr. Winterkorn’s move comes after it was admitted that millions of diesel vehicles built by the Volkswagen Group since 2009 have been fitted with the technology and sophisticated software, which switches engines to a cleaner mode when they are being tested.
In a statement Professor Dr. Winterkorn said: “I am shocked by the events of the past few days. Above all, I am stunned that misconduct on such a scale was possible in the Volkswagen Group.
“As CEO I accept responsibility for the irregularities that have been found in diesel engines and have therefore requested the Supervisory Board to agree on terminating my function as CEO of the Volkswagen Group. I am doing this in the interests of the company even though I am not aware of any wrong doing on my part.”
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin commented: “I understand VW are contacting all UK customers affected. I have made clear to the managing director this needs to happen as soon as possible.
“The Government expects VW to set out quickly the next steps it will take to correct the problem and support owners of these vehicles already purchased in the UK.”
UK: Cars affected per brand
Volkswagen Passenger Cars – 508,276
Audi – 393,450
SEAT – 76,773
Skoda – 131,569
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles – 79,838
