VW chief ‘endlessly sorry’ for tarnishing brand

BERLIN — Volkswagen’s emissions scandal crisis escalated Tuesday as the company issued a profit warning, set aside billions to cover the fallout and saw its shares take another battering. The chief executive of the world’s top-selling carmaker declared he was “endlessly sorry” that the company had squandered worldwide trust in its brand.

The rapid-fire developments followed the stunning admission that some 11 million of the German carmaker’s diesel vehicles worldwide were fitted with software that evaded U.S. emissions controls.

As its share price sunk for a second straight day, Volkswagen said it was setting aside around ¤6.5 billion ($7.3 billion) to cover the fallout. Chief executive Martin Winterkorn apologized for his company’s deception and pledged a fast and thorough investigation, but gave no indication that he was considering leaving.

“Millions of people across the world trust our brands, our cars and our technologies,” Winterkorn said Tuesday in a video message. “I am endlessly sorry that we have disappointed this trust. I apologize in every way to our customers, to authorities and the whole public for the wrongdoing.”

“We are asking, I am asking for your trust on our way forward,” he said. “We will clear this up.”

The damage to Volkswagen’s reputation was reflected in the market’s response. Volkswagen’s share price slid a further 16.8 percent Tuesday to close at ¤111.20. The fall came on top of Monday’s 17 percent decline.

The trigger to the company’s market woes was last Friday’s revelation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that VW rigged nearly half a million cars to defeat U.S. smog tests.

The company told U.S. regulators that it intentionally installed software programmed to switch engines to a cleaner mode during official emissions testing. The software then switches off again, enabling cars to drive more powerfully on the road while emitting as much as 40 times the legal pollution limit.