Volkswagen creates new integrity board to quicken brand recovery following emissions scandal
Volkswagen has created a new integrity and legal affairs board and hired Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt from rival car marque Daimler as lead as it looks to clean up its emissions scandal.
Hohmann-Dennhardt was released from the same role at Daimler after VW put in a special request "in the interest of good governance in the German automotive industry" according to a statement. She will join the Volkswagen Group on 1 January next year.
"We are delighted that Dr. Hohmann-Dennhardt has agreed to take on this responsible task and that we can build on her outstanding competence and experience", the chairman of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG, Hans Dieter Pötsch, said. "At the same time we would like to thank Daimler AG for agreeing to our request to the early termination of Dr. Hohmann-Dennhardt's contract."
Before joining Daimler Hohmann-Dennhardt was a judge at Germany's federal court.
Dubbed the 'diesel dupe' news of the emissions scandal broke after The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that a large number of VW cars sold in the US had devices in diesel engines that could detect when they were being tested, which could then change the performane to improve results.
The company will now recall a total of approximately 8.5m vehicles in Europe, including some 2.4m vehicles in Germany.