3rd LD Writethru: VW Group CEO quits amid emissions scandal

The CEO of Volkswagen Group, Martin Winterkorn, on Wednesday announced his resignation as the company is caught in an emissions scandal.

Winterkorn made the announcement in a statement published on the company's website.

Winterkorn said he accepted responsibility for the "irregularities" that had been found in diesel engines and have requested the supervisory board to agree to his resignation as CEO of the VW Group.

"I am doing this in the interests of the company even though I am not aware of any wrongdoing on my part."

"The process of clarification and transparency must continue. This is the only way to win back trust. I am convinced that the Volkswagen Group and its team will overcome this grave crisis," said the statement.

The executive committee of Volkswagen AG's supervisory board said in a statement published on its website that it had great respect for Winterkorn's offer to resign from his position.

Recommendations for new personnel will be presented at the upcoming meeting of the supervisory board this Friday, it said.

While paying tribute to Winterkorn's "invaluable contributions" to Volkswagen, the executive committee said in the statement that Winterkorn had had no knowledge of the manipulation of emissions data.

They expect further personnel consequences in the next few days. "The internal Group investigations are continuing at a high tempo."

With regard to the emissions cheating accusations, the executive committee said it was taking this matter extremely seriously.

"The Executive Committee recognizes not only the economic damage caused, but also the loss of trust among many customers worldwide," said the committee.

According to the statement, the "incidents" needed to be clarified with great conviction to see to it that "mistakes are corrected". Endit