VW manager: Boss knew about cheating
A former senior quality manager at Volkswagen has told investigators he informed then-CEO Martin Winterkorn on July 27, 2015, that the carmaker had “cheated” during emissions tests in the US, according to German media reports.
Volkswagen has said its executive board did not learn about the severity of emissions test cheating using illegal software until late August 2015.
VW has acknowledged it installed software that deactivated pollution controls on more than 11 million diesel vehicles sold worldwide, damaging its global business, leading to billions of dollars in fines, and prompting the departure of Winterkorn.
But questions linger over who knew the software was illegal, and when they found out.
The timing is important because VW is being sued by investors for holding back market-sensitive information — an allegation it denies.
According to a report by German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and broadcasters NDR and WDR, the unidentified quality manager told German and US investigators that Winterkorn phoned him on July 27 to inquire about problems with the certification of new models in the US.
He says he then told the CEO that VW had “cheated” in the US, the report said.
VW declined to comment on the report. Winterkorn’s lawyer was not immediately available for comment.