Volkswagen chief Martin Winterkorn resigns over diesel scandal

VOLKSWAGEN Group CEO Martin Winterkorn has resigned, as the company he headed reels from its revelation yesterday that 11 million of its diesel cars used operating software that could cheat emissions testing.

The admission extended to cars sold globally findings announced last Friday by the Environmental Protection Authority in the United States, which said that 482,000 Volkswagen Golfs, Jettas, Beetles, Passats and Audi A3s had been fitted with software that could defeat official US tests.

After Volkswagen announced it would spend $10 billion on a response to the scandal and saw its share price plummet, Winterkorn, 68, said he was stunned at the scale of misconduct and hoped his departure could mark a fresh start for the company.

“Volkswagen needs a fresh start, also in terms of personnel,” he said. “I am clearing the way for this fresh start with my resignation.”

More to come.