Embattled carmaker Volkswagen tapped Porsche chief Matthias Mueller Friday to steer it out of the wreckage of a widening scandal over pollution test rigging, as Washington said it would test all diesel cars for devices that fool emissions tests.
The 62-year-old Mueller replaces Martin Winterkorn, who was forced to resign Wednesday over the stunning revelations by US environmental authorities that the German carmaker had fitted some of its diesel cars with software capable of tricking environmental tests -- a scam that could lead to fines worth more than $18 billion.
The scale of VW's deception became clear when the company admitted that 11 million of its diesel cars are equipped with so-called defeat devices that covertly turn off pollution controls when the car is being driven and back on when tests are being conducted.
Calling the cheating a "moral and policy disaster," the company's supervisory board chief Berthold Huber said the group is now looking to Mueller, who "knows the company and its brands," to tackle the crisis.
Board member Bernd Osterloh added that "a small group had caused great damage to Volkswagen."
Mueller himself vowed that his "most pressing task will be to restore confidence in the Volkswagen Group -- through an unsparing investigation and maximum transparency, but also by drawing the right lessons from the current situation."
"We will overcome this crisis," he said, adding that the carmaker could "emerge stronger from the crisis in the long term" if it learned from its mistakes.
Mueller has a daunting task ahead given the global amplitude of the scandal.
Authorities from India to Norway have announced new probes, while the US environmental regulator said it would test all diesel car models.
"Today we are putting vehicle manufacturers on notice that our testing is going to include additional evaluation and tests designed to look for potential defeat devices," said Christopher Grundler, director of the EPA Office of Transportation & Air Quality.
(AFP)
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