Dieselgate worsens, 11m vehicles could be affected

Volkswagen’s Group CEO, Martin Winterkorn, has held onto his job as the scandal over VW rigged emissions software to pass US emission tests continues.

Overnight the firm has announced it has set aside US$7.3bn to cover the costs of ‘fixing’ the issues that concern the Type EA 189 engines that cheated the US EPA emissions test.

Perhaps more concerning now for Winterkorn is revelations that about 11 million other Volkswagen and Audi diesels sold in the US could also have “software irregularities”.

Already facing fines of more than $18bn from the US government alone, Germany, France, South Korea and Italy have already among a growing number of countries who have launched their own investigations into the claims Volkswagen rigged emissions tests there.

The German government, meanwhile, has announced it will go further and set up an investigative commission that will visit Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg headquarters in northern Germany to force VW to pass on any relevant evidence to help the US investigators with their inquiries.

Rushing to issue a video press release, late last night, Volkswagen Group’s CEO said that he was working to “clarify the background unsparingly, and at this very moment, everything is being put on the table as quickly, thoroughly and transparently as possible.”

Winterkorn also stated that the emission software cheat “contradict everything for which Volkswagen stands” and that VW was tracking down the department who knew about the software.

Rumours are rife that Winterkorn’s days (or hours) are numbered following 15 billion euros were wiped off the Volkswagen Group’s share price overnight.

Late tonight (our time), it’s been reported, VW’s supervisory board will meet to sack Winterkorn and replace him with Porsche’s current CEO, Matthias Muller - although these rumours have been rubbished by Volkswagen.

Meanwhile, in the US itself, VW’s boss Michael Horn has already admitted the German car-maker was at fault. "Our company was dishonest. We have totally screwed up. We must fix the cars to prevent this from ever happening again and we have to make this right. This kind of behaviour is totally inconsistent with our qualities."

Yesterday a confidential source speaking to Motoring.com.au said it would have been ‘virtually impossible’ for Winterkorn or any of the other three senior execs in charge to have known about the EPA cheating software because a culture of plausible deniability that exists within all large car-makers that protects senior management for potentially unlawful activities.

So far fellow German car-makers BMW and Daimler have vehemently denied any involvement in any EPA-cheating ‘defeat devices’. Despite this nervous investors have already seen share prices for both firms slide.