Photo: VW AG
Martin Winterkorn is out, Porsche boss Matthias Müller is in as the new CEO of the Volkswagen Group. However, at the extraordinary press conference held today in Wolfsburg, the German company sort of "forgot" to say anything about the Dieselgate scandal.
Firstly, who is the new CEO of the Volkswagen Group? Mr. Matthias Müller is currently the Chairman of Porsche AG. Born in 1953, he started to work for the Group by an appreticeship as a toolmaker with Audi AG. In 1993, he became head of Project Management for the Audi A3. Fast-forward to the present day and here we are, with Müller declaring today: "My most urgent task is to win back trust for the Volkswagen Group – by leaving no stone unturned and with maximum transparency, as well as drawing the right conclusions from the current situation."
Other than Martin Winterkorn's ousting in favor of Matthias Müller, other heads will roll in the near future. The Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG decided to appoint Winfried Vahland as the head honcho of a newly reorganized Volkswagen North America (USA, Mexico, and Canada). His seat as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Skoda will be taken by Bernhard Maier, who's currently a big shot over at Porsche.
Other than brand and regional strenghtening, Volkswagen AG decided to group the Porsche brand with Bentley and Bugatti. Wait, what is the meaning of this? In a nutshell, "a Porsche brand group with Bentley and Bugatti will be established for the sportscar and mid-engine toolkit." Exciting outcome? You bet it is.
On the flip side, Müller and the board of directors didn't tell anything about which cars are affected by the emissions defeat device, a contraption that rigs an estimated 11 million Type EA 189 2.0 TDI diesel lumps. Müller ended the conference with a promise: "Under my leadership, Volkswagen will do everything it can to develop and implement the most stringent compliance and governance standards in our industry."
Müller's statement as the new CEO of the Volkswagen Group is bold, alright. He can talk the talk, but can he and Volkswagen walk the walk as well? The waiting game continues and anxiety grows stronger over the emissions scandal that could also affect Euro-spec vehicles equipped with the 2.0 TDI EA 189 turbo diesel.
UPDATE: Volkswagen AG finally released a list of the affected vehicles.
Other than Martin Winterkorn's ousting in favor of Matthias Müller, other heads will roll in the near future. The Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG decided to appoint Winfried Vahland as the head honcho of a newly reorganized Volkswagen North America (USA, Mexico, and Canada). His seat as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Skoda will be taken by Bernhard Maier, who's currently a big shot over at Porsche.
Other than brand and regional strenghtening, Volkswagen AG decided to group the Porsche brand with Bentley and Bugatti. Wait, what is the meaning of this? In a nutshell, "a Porsche brand group with Bentley and Bugatti will be established for the sportscar and mid-engine toolkit." Exciting outcome? You bet it is.
On the flip side, Müller and the board of directors didn't tell anything about which cars are affected by the emissions defeat device, a contraption that rigs an estimated 11 million Type EA 189 2.0 TDI diesel lumps. Müller ended the conference with a promise: "Under my leadership, Volkswagen will do everything it can to develop and implement the most stringent compliance and governance standards in our industry."
Müller's statement as the new CEO of the Volkswagen Group is bold, alright. He can talk the talk, but can he and Volkswagen walk the walk as well? The waiting game continues and anxiety grows stronger over the emissions scandal that could also affect Euro-spec vehicles equipped with the 2.0 TDI EA 189 turbo diesel.
UPDATE: Volkswagen AG finally released a list of the affected vehicles.
Approximately 5 million cars equipped with the EA 189 2.0 TDI turbo diesel engine are to be recalled worldwide over emissions, namely the sixth-generation Golf, seventh-generation Passat, and first-generation Tiguan. All Euro 6-compliant vehicles (current Golf, Passat, and new Tiguan) are not affected.
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