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Volkswagen’s US chief executive steps down
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Loading...Volkswagen’s emissions scandal has claimed its highest-ranking scalp so far in the country where the crisis started, as Michael Horn said he would step down as head of the US operations “to pursue other opportunities”.
Hinrich Woebcken, the newly-appointed head of Volkswagen’s North American region, will serve as an interim replacement for Mr Horn, who has been the face of VW in the US ever since the company’s cheating over emissions became public in September.
Herbert Diess, head of the core Volkswagen brand, said he wanted personally to say “thank you” to Mr Horn for the work he had done since taking over in the US in January 2014.
“During his time in the US, Michael Horn built up a strong relationship with our national dealer body and showed exemplary leadership during difficult times for the brand,” Mr Diess said.
The company gave no indication of why Mr Horn — whom dealers had demanded to have stay in place after it became public that the company had cheated on some diesel vehicles’ emissions tests — was leaving. His departure was “effective immediately”.
Michelle Krebs, an analyst at Autotrader.com, the car information site, said Volkswagen appeared to be trying to start fresh with a clean slate.
“But still what is lacking is a clear plan for helping owners of these vehicles and a plan forward for the brand,” she said.
Since the scandal broke, Mr Horn had often appeared frustrated with the group’s Germany-based management. The irritation was most obvious during a congressional hearing in October when Mr Horn was asked about the company’s official explanation that the cheating on tests was the work of only a small group of engineers, not a corporate decision. Engineers circumvented the tests by writing a “defeat device” that detected when an emissions test was under way into the emissions control software.
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