Winterkorn, VW CEO resigns
Q. VW CEO has recently resigned on September 23rd 2015 following a diesel emissions scandal. He is:- Published on 24 Sep 15a. Martin Winterkorn
b. Martin Winterborn
c. Martin Schneider
d. None of the above
ANSWER: Martin Winterkorn
Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned on 23rd September 2015 taking responsibility for the German carmaker's rigging of U.S. emissions tests in the biggest scandal in its 78-year history. A 5 member committee has been questioning Winterkorn at company HQ in Wolfsburg, Germany about the scandal prior to his resignation. Shares fell by more than 30% after news broke. U.S. authorities are planning criminal investigations after discovering that VW programmed computers in its cars to detect when they were being tested and alter the running of their diesel engines to conceal their correct emissions rate. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Friday Volkswagen could face penalties of up to $18 billion for cheating emissions tests on some of its diesel cars. Diesel engines constitute less than 3% of new cars in US, and around half of the cars in EU. Though associated with low GHG emissions, they are said to emit high levels of poisonous gas nitrogen dioxide.
