VW Group’s new CEO Matthias Müller said in an interview that the company would launch a recall for cars fitted with the emissions manipulating software in January. The executive also said that the recall operation could be completed by the end of next year.
“If all goes according to plan, we can start the recall in January. All the cars should be fixed by the end of 2016,” Müller told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ).
However, things will be more complicated than they sound. For the US market, the Environmental Protection Agency will have to first agree with the remedy before approving the recall, a VW spokeswoman told Reuters. She did not offer a timeframe for that.
The executive also said that he believed only a few employees were involved in the diesel emissions rigging and he dismissed the possibility that his predecessor Martin Winterkorn knew about it. Müller said VW must become smaller and less centralized, adding that every model and brand would be scrutinized for its contribution to the company.
“This crisis gives us an opportunity to overhaul Volkswagen’s structures. We want to make the company slimmer, more decentralized and give the brands more responsibility,” the CEO added.
According to him, the company needs an “evolution” rather than a “revolution” to get back on track, with the executive predicting that the company could “shine again” in two to three years.
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