
Volkswagen's pollution cheating programme was developed by dozens of managers, not just a handful of individuals as the company has suggested, news site Spiegel Online reported Wednesday.
The German auto giant last month caused global outrage when it admitted that it fitted 11 million diesel vehicles with software designed to cheat pollution tests.
Preliminary results of investigations carried out by VW and a US law firm suggest that "the emissions fraud was not only created by a small group of managers, as the company claims," said Spiegel Online without citing its source.
"Dozens of Volkswagen managers were implicated, insiders speak of at least 30 people," said the report, adding that "they are to be suspended".
A Volkswagen spokesman however rejected the claim, saying "the number is without foundation".
The group has promised to shed light on how the cheating could have happened, but top managers have already pointed the finger at a handful of people, and suspended several of them, without confirming their identities.
Volkswagen's new chief Matthias Mueller has said four employees had been suspended, adding however that he did not believe that top management could have been aware of the scam.
Among those suspended is the technical director of Audi, according to German media.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen's Czech brand Skoda said its former boss Winfried Vahland, who had been appointed to head the VW group's North America operations, had quit the company.
Vahland was leaving due to differences of opinion over the organisation of VW's North American operations, Skoda said, adding that the decision had nothing to do with the pollution cheating scandal.
GMT 22:53 2018 Thursday ,13 December
Indian Minister of Trade meets with UAE Ambassador, Chairman of Emaar PropertiesGMT 13:41 2018 Thursday ,06 December
Tyre maker Continental opens lab to extract rubber from dandelionsGMT 15:23 2018 Friday ,30 November
Paper industry around famous Chinese lake to be shut down by 2019GMT 11:13 2018 Sunday ,18 November
Electricx 2018 kicks off with participation of over 20 countriesGMT 16:34 2018 Tuesday ,13 November
Amazon announces new headquarters in New York and WashingtonGMT 16:51 2018 Monday ,12 November
Egypt's exports to Nile basin countries reached EGP 19.9 bln in 2017: CAPMASGMT 08:11 2018 Friday ,09 November
Kaspersky Lab CEO suggests replacing cybersecurity with 'cyber-immunity'GMT 14:00 2018 Thursday ,08 November
Namibian enterprise endeavours to seize opportunities at China import expoMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor