Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned on Wednesday, just days after it was revealed that Volkswagen’s diesel cars were equipped with devices that allowed for ‘cheating’ on eco-tests, causing the company to lose a third of its market value.
Winterkorn (68), who had led Volkswagen since 2007, stated that he does not feel guilty but wants to “take responsibility” for the scandal and enable Volkswagen a “fresh start,” the company announced.
The VW management is also announcing other changes in the management in the coming days, and a decision on Winterkorn’s successor will be made on Friday. It is speculated that it could be Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller.
On Tuesday, Volkswagen admitted that 11 million of its diesel cars worldwide were equipped with devices that allowed for ‘cheating’ on eco-tests.
The vehicles were equipped with sophisticated software that disables air pollution control while driving and activates it only during eco-tests. When the device is turned off, the car emits harmful gases in quantities up to 40 times higher than allowed, revealed last Friday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
U.S. regulators ordered VW to rectify these deficiencies, and the German company halted the sale of all ‘diesels’ in the U.S. during an investigation that could result in a fine of 18 billion euros.
Nearly half a million VW vehicles in the U.S. are affected by the issue.
In addition to the U.S., investigations have been announced by authorities in France and South Korea.
The scandal has cut VW’s market capitalization by about 25 billion euros in just two days, down to 51 billion euros.
So far, it is limited to Volkswagen, but some environmental activist groups in Germany suspect that other car manufacturers may be using similar technology.
