Volkswagen AG will name Matthias Mueller as its new CEO, according to a Reuters report.
Mueller is currently the head of Porsche, one of the companies under the VW umbrella. He will be tasked to lead the company as it deals with the diesel emissions crisis that led to the resignation of former CEO Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn.
Winterkorn resigned Wednesday, the first casualty of the scandal, saying that he had no knowledge of the software cheat that made VW diesel engines run cleaner when it detected that they were being tested, but run dirtier when in normal operation.
The company stated that around 11 million cars worldwide have that software cheat, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could fine the company up to $18 billion.
Reuters also reported that Volkswagen USA CEO Michael Horn is also expected to be fired during the company’s board meeting on Friday. Horn has been head of the American arm of VW for less than two years.
German newspaper Bild also reported that a few other VW officials will lose their jobs. The paper cited unnamed company sources who said that Audi head of research and development Ulrich Hackenberg and Porsche engine chief Wolfgang Hatz will also be fired during the board meeting.
VW has a long road ahead to deal with the scandal, which will cost the company in the billions, both in potential penalties and potential losses in sales as it tries to regain consumer confidence. The company has already set aside a fund of $7 billion to handle any financial fallout from the incident.
In an article written on September 18, TFLcar’s Roman Mica predicted that Winterkorn and Horn would lose their jobs as a result of the Dieselgate scandal.
Check out this TFLcar video where Roman and Andre ask five tough questions to VW about the scandal:
