September 24, 2015 – Volkswagen Group’s CEO Martin Winterkorn has resigned following the huge scandal involving 11 million diesel cars equipped with a clever software for cheating during emissions tests.
In a statement, 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 wrongdoing on my part.”
He continued: “Volkswagen needs a fresh start – also in terms of personnel. I am clearing the way for this fresh start with my resignation.”
After admitting that it intentionally rigged its cars, Volkswagen now faces up to 18 billion dollars in fines and has set aside 7.2 billion dollars to fix all affected vehicles worldwide.