Mattias Müller named new CEO of the VW Group

Former Chairman of Porsche, Mattias Müller, has been named the new CE of the Volkswagen (VW) Group, following the resignation of former chief Martin Winterkorn in the aftermath of the emissions tests scandal.

Winterkorn stepped down from his position on the 23 September, following the admission by VW Group that it had rigged emissions tests with on board software that disguised the true emissions of diesel engines.

Müller was appointed to the new position following a supervisory board meeting on 25 September. Speaking after the announcement, Müller said his first job would be to win back trust for the company.

He said: "My most urgent task is to win back trust for the Volkswagen Group – by leaving no stone unturned and with maximum transparency, as well as drawing the right conclusions from the current situation. Under my leadership, Volkswagen will do everything it can to develop and implement the most stringent compliance and governance standards in our industry. If we manage to achieve that then the Volkswagen Group, with its innovative strength, its strong brands, and above all its competent and highly motivated team, has the opportunity to emerge from this crisis stronger than before."

The interim chairman of the supervisory board of Volkswagen AG, Berthold Huber, said: "Matthias Müller is a person of great strategic, entrepreneurial and social competence. He knows the group and its brands well and can immediately engage in his new task with full energy. We expressly value his critical and constructive approach."

Among the other personnel changes, former Chairman of the Board of Directors at Skoda Prof Dr Winfried Vahland is now a member of the Volkswagen brand Board of Management for North America. Michael Horn, the troubled President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America who apologised last week to US Volkswagen owners in the wake of the diesel emissions scandal stays in his role.

The Volkswagen brand itself will also introduce a management structure made up of four regions, with each led by a local CEO with a direct reporting line to the brand Chairman, Dr Herbert Diess, the new CEO for Volkswagen Passenger Cars.

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