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Volkswagen

Volkswagen chief resigns amid emissions crisis

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By Tony Connelly, Journalist

September 23, 2015 | 2 min read

Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn has resigned amid the emissions scandal which has engulfed the motoring giant.

Winterkorn has denied any wrongdoing in the scandal which saw the car manufacturer admit to installing software to fool emissions tests but said he will leave in “the interests of the company”.

In a statement released today Winterkorn said he was “stunned that misconduct on such a scale was possible in the Volkswagen Group”. He said that as CEO he would “accept responsibility” but added that he was “not aware of any wrongdoing on my part”.

His resignation comes just a day after he vowed to remain in his position and repair the damage from the scandal which has widely damaged the company’s reputation. Earlier today rating agency Fitch confirmed that it was considering cutting Volkswagen’s credit rating over this scandal.

A meeting of the supervisory board today appears to have decided his fate though. No news on a successor has been emerged, although reports yesterday suggested he could be replaced by the current chief executive of Porsche, Matthias Müller.

The company recently admitted installing software to fool emissions testing in around 11m cars.

In concluding his resignation statement Winterkorn said his resignation was the only way to win back trust and said he remained “convinced that the Volkswagen Group and its team will overcome this grave crisis.”

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