VW Reportedly Firing Three Executives and Honing in on a New CEO

Matthias Müller

The VW scandal involving the doctoring the emissions of its diesel engines is quickly coming to a head. Just the other day, I reported to you the resignation (read: scurrying away before they fire me) of its CEO,  Martin Winterkorn, and now there are reports of three more terminations coming and the designation of a new CEO.

The speedy terminations were very much expected, and all three are high-level executive within the auto group. The executives in question, according to Reuters, are all familiar names and faces to those of us in the industry. They are Michael Horn, Ulrich Hackenberg, and Wolfgang Hatz. Respectively, these executives oversaw U.S. operations, Audi research and development, and Porsche research and development.

While the three firings were predictable, the reported designation of the new CEO is a little surprising. According to Reuters, Porsche CEO, Matthias Müller, will take over VW. While Müller is highly regarded in the industry, his own company is a part of this scandal, so labeling him the new leader of VW Auto Group seems a little odd.

Apparently the German auto conglomerate is confident that Müller had no knowledge of the switches being placed in TDI engines, possibly even in the Porsche Cayenne’s 3.0-liter TDI powerplant. I am curious to see what happens with Müller should the EPA find that Müller and Porsche were also elbows deep in manipulating emission tests.

Regardless of Porsche’s possible involvement, Müller is in for the fight of his business life. He not only needs to once again earn the trust of governments worldwide, but he also has to win back the faith of VW buyers and overcome a possible $18 billion fine. Those are all pretty tall orders if you ask me.

We’ll continue to monitor the volatile situation and let you know when more details roll out.