REUTERS
Volkswagen has appointed former Porsche boss Matthias Mueller as new chief executive following the resignation of Martin Winterkorn over 'diesel exhaust cheat' scandal, The Telegraph reported.
The German automaker said up to 11 million vehicles worldwide could be affected due to the emissions scandal and the scam could lead to fines worth more than $18 billion, according to the report.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found that software designed to circumvent U.S. emissions tests was used in the Audi A3, Jetta, Beetle, Golf and Passat models. The software, which was in use in 11 million of VW cars worldwide, detected when cars were being lab tested for emissions, and turned on pollution controls that were normally inactive.
Thus, the actual emissions of Volkswagen diesel engines were much higher than the results showed during the tests.
VW's shares fell by one-third after admitting diesel emissions cheat, and a number of German politicians said that the scandal threatened not only the reputation of the car maker, but the whole German car industry.
The company's management has admitted guilt and pledged to ensure utmost openness and transparency in investigating the case.