VW chief admits: We "SCREWED UP"

MYM8

We `screwed up,' admits VW chief
Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Volkswagen America's chief executive, Michael Horn, said the company "totally screwed up," candidly admitting wrongdoing after the German car giant was caught cheating in US-pollution measuring tests.

The admission came as German Chancellor Angela Merkel pressed Volkswagen for full transparency and the US Justice Department reportedly launched a criminal investigation.

The Volkswagen share price continued to tumble.

Horn, at an event in New York, pledged to "make things right with the government, the public, our customers, our employees and also very important, our dealers."

He added: "Our company was dishonest, with the EPA and the California Air Resources board, and with all of you and in my German words we have totally screwed up."

Volkswagen, the world's largest automaker by sales, has revealed that 11 million diesel cars worldwide are equipped with devices that can cheat pollution tests.

The scandal went public when US regulators ordered the company to fix the defect and said they were launching a probe.

VW shares fell 17 percent on Monday and another 23 percent yesterday during trade on the Frankfurt stock exchange.

Merkel pressed Volkswagen yesterday to assure full transparency. "In view of the difficult situation, it is now key to show full transparency and clear up the entire matter," she said.

It was reported that Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn will be relieved of his duties by Friday.

US authorities said the company has acknowledged that it equipped about 482,000 diesel VW and Audi cars in the US with software called a "defeat device" that covertly turns off pollution controls when the car is being driven and turns them on only when it detects that the car is undergoing an emissions test.

With the device off, the car can spew health-threatening pollutant gases into the air, said the US Environmental Protection Agency.

The US Justice Department has reportedly launched a criminal investigation and the scandal has also led to France calling for a Europe-wide probe into the revelations.

The German firm halted all diesel vehicle sales in the United States during the US probe, which could lead to fines of more than US$18 billion (HK$140.4 billion).

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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