End of road for VW boss in wake of emissions scandal

Volkswagen board members give a statement announcing that CEO Martin Winterkorn stepped down. Picture: AP

The German car-maker has admitted that 11 million vehicles worldwide might have been fitted with software to trick emissions testers into believing their vehicles met environmental standards.

Mr Winterkorn announced he was stepping down but was not aware of “any wrongdoing on my part”.

He issued a statement which read: “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.” Mr Winterkorn added that VW needed a “fresh start” and his resignation was “clearing the way” for that to happen.

He said he was “convinced” that the company would “overcome this grave crisis”.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US said cars had been fitted with sophisticated software to switch engines to a cleaner mode when they are undergoing official emissions testing.

This is a type of software known as a “defeat device”.

Once on the road, the cars produced nitrogen oxide pollutants at up to 40 times the legal standard.

Volkswagen will need to formulate a co-ordinated response as it faces deepening scrutiny.

New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman said he would collaborate with other US states to enforce consumer and environmental laws.

Mr Schneiderman said: “No company should be allowed to evade our environmental laws or promise consumers a fake bill of goods.”

Other states are also looking at filing class action suits against the world’s biggest car-maker and, according to reports, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) is looking into the issue, which raises the possibility of the company and individual executives facing criminal charges.

In the past the DoJ has often extracted hefty payments from companies to settle criminal charges.

Shares in VW were up 5 per cent yesterday, but since the scandal broke at the start of the week the firm has lost around one third of its value, or 26 billion euro (£19 billion).