Volkswagen has moved to dispel questions over the future of its newly appointed chief executive, saying Matthias Müller’s job was never in doubt following a difficult trip to the US last week.
Mr Müller, who succeeded Martin Winterkorn at the German carmaker in September when the emissions scandal broke, attracted criticism on his first visit to the US as top manager by appearing to suggest in a radio interview that the company "didn't lie" to regulators.
VW later asked to re-do the interview, but Mr Müller struggled with the bigger task of returning to Germany with a plan agreed with US regulators on how to fix cars affected by software designed to rig emissions tests.
After a meeting of the steering committee of VW’s supervisory board yesterday, in which Mr Müller gave an update on progress in the US, VW said: “The position of Müller was never up for discussion. Any other speculation is baseless and is expressly rejected.”
The company statement appeared partly directed at reports in the German Bild am Sonntag newspaper, which said that doubts had surfaced over Mr Müller, particularly among influential labour representatives on the VW supervisory board. Mr Müller told the supervisory board panel he believed the company had breached legal and ethical limits when VW cars cheated in US laboratory tests.
A survey of almost 6,300 car drivers in Ireland by 123.ie has revealed that more than three-quarters of Volkswagen owners remain loyal to the German car brand despite the recent emissions scandal, with 78 per cent stating that it has not affected their likelihood of a repeat purchase.
For owners of other car brands, almost 54 per cent of non-Volkswagen owners said the scandal would not put them off buying a VW or one of its brands in the future.
The results should offer some hope for the embattled brand, which was back in the news in January as the US government stated its intention to sue VW over the scandal.
