Former head of Porsche is made the new chief executive of Volkswagen as it emerges THREE MILLION of the under-fire car-maker's vehicles were fitted with emissions cheat devices 

• Head of VW's Porsche unit, Matthias Mueller, to succeed Martin Winterkorn
• Winterkorn resigned on Wednesday in wake of emissions-rigging scandal 
• Mueller vows to make sweeping changes to the way the company is run 
• Research and development chiefs of Audi and Porsche in line for the chop
• VW's top U.S. executive set for axe after admitting 'we totally screwed up' 

By Simon Tomlinson for MailOnline

Published: 03:49 EST, 25 September 2015 | Updated: 19:24 EST, 25 September 2015

Head of Volkswagen’s Porsche unit Matthias Mueller has been named as Volkswagen chief executive, following this week’s emissions-rigging scandal.

His predecessor Martin Winterkorn resigned on Wednesday, after the German car giant admitted cheating emissions tests in the U.S.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency accused VW of installing the so-called 'defeat device' used to cheat emissions tests in 482,000 cars sold in America. 

In the driving seat: Porsche boss Matthias Mueller (right) has been named as the successor to Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn (left) who resigned over the emissions testing scandal

VW later acknowledged that similar software exists in 11million diesel vehicles worldwide, but hasn't given details of the models or their whereabouts.  

The new chief Mueller said in a statement: ‘Under my leadership, Volkswagen will do all it can to develop and implement the strictest compliance and governance standards in the whole industry.’ 

‘My most urgent task is to win back trust for the Volkswagen Group – by leaving no stone unturned and with maximum transparency, as well as drawing the right conclusions from the current situation,’ he said, adding that he would make sweeping changes to the way the company was run.

‘At no point was the safety of our customers in danger. We will now have even stricter compliance. Our objective is that the people continue to use and drive our vehicles with confidence and pleasure.

‘That’s 80 million people driving our cars worldwide.’ 

Nearly three million Volkswagen vehicles in Germany were among those containing software at the centre of the scandal, it emerged today. 

Germany's transport minister Alexander Dobrindt told lawmakers today that 2.8million of the vehicles were in Germany.  

The embattled carmaker hopes its new chief executive will steer it out of the wreckage of a widening scandal over pollution test rigging as authorities from India to Norway announced new probes.

More heads are also set to roll as Volkswagen attempts to clean up its organisation, with its reputation for trustworthiness in tatters following last week's disclosure that stealth software was used in its diesel cars to dupe U.S. testers. 

The research and development chiefs of Audi and Porsche, Ulrich Hackenberg and Wolfgang Hatz, are expected be removed by the supervisory board, which is due to meet today to decide on the new CEO. 

German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt (pictured with German Chancellor Angela Merkel) today revealed that 2.8million Volkswagen vehicles in Germany were fitted with emissions cheat devices

Set for the chop: The research and development chief of Audi, Ulrich Hackenberg (above), is expected to be removed in a major cull of bosses as Volkswagen faces the biggest crisis in its history

Hackenberg and Hatz had both held senior posts at VW in development, including of engines, before they switched to Audi and Porsche. They are among Volkswagen's top engineers. 

Volkswagen's top executive in the United States, Michael Horn, is also in line for the chop. 

Horn acknowledged this week that the company had 'totally screwed up' by deceiving U.S. regulators about how much its diesel cars pollute.  

Winterkorn, who had been CEO since 2007, said he took responsibility for the 'irregularities' found by U.S. inspectors in VW's diesel engines, but insisted he had personally done nothing wrong.

Though the pressure on the company's share price has eased, evidenced further by a 3.3 per cent rise in early Friday trading to 122.80 euros, VW faces a mountain of difficulties – from class action lawsuits to fixing the software that it has said is in some 11 million cars worldwide, way more than the 482,000 identified last week by the U.S.'s Environmental Protection Agency.

VW's supervisory board will be hoping that its decision on Winterkorn's successor will help the car company contain the scandal and restore its business and brand.

In Germany, speculation had centered on possible candidates from within the 12-brand Volkswagen group.  

Beyond Mueller, they included Audi boss Rupert Stadler, 52; Herbert Diess, 56, a relative newcomer to the company who previously worked at BMW and became head of the VW brand in July; and Andreas Renschler, 57, a recent arrival from Daimler who heads the commercial vehicles division.

Others thought it may be better for the company to look for talent outside, partly because internal candidates could have been seen as compromised purely by the fact they were present at the time of the scandal. 

In the firing line: Porsche's engine chief Wolfgang Hatz (left) and Volkswagen's top executive in the United States, Michael Horn (right) are also set to be removed by Volkswagen's supervisory board

Jason Hanold, managing partner of Evanston, Illinois-based executive search firm Hanold Associates, said VW would be 'spoiled for choice' if it had decided to look outside company for its next CEO.

'The hairier the problem, the more excited these people will be. This is what these types are driven by,' Hanold said.

Hanold said the ideal candidate would be someone with a history of turning companies around following reputational damage.  

'The next CEO has to be one who is willing to be vulnerable, to come to the table with an enormous sense of authenticity and transparency, someone people will want to follow,' he said. 

The appointment of Mueller comes as BMW was last night dragged into the 'diesel-gate' saga after claims one of its top-selling off-road models exceeded EU emissions limits in tests.

An activist holds placard of Pinocchio holding a sign reading 'no more lies' during a protest by environmental watchdog Greenpeace in front of the headquarters of German car maker Volkswagen in Wolfsburg, Germany

The German car giant, which also builds Minis and Rolls-Royces in Britain and has a world-renowned engine plant at Hams Hall near Birmingham, vigorously denied the reports in the German media.

BMW's share price slumped almost 7 per cent after motoring magazine Auto Bild claimed its X3 xDrive model emitted 11 times the official nitrogen oxide (NOx) limit during tests carried out by a 'UK institute'.

The company issued an official response, stating it did not 'manipulate or rig any emissions tests' and insisted it was not familiar with the test mentioned by the magazine. 

BMW added: 'When it comes to our vehicles, there is no difference in the treatment of exhaust emissions whether they are on rollers (eg. test bench situation) or on the road.

'No specific details of the test have yet been provided and therefore we cannot explain these results. 

'We are willing to discuss our testing procedures with the relevant authorities and to make our vehicles available for testing at any time.'

Fellow German car-maker Mercedes-Benz last night rejected reports that it had cheated in carbon dioxide emission tests.

The International Council on Clean Transportation said the company had the worst record for overstating fuel economy figures. 

It said Mercedes cars had the biggest gap between lab tests and real-world performance for emissions of carbon dioxide, the so-called 'greenhouse gas' blamed for global warming, The Times reported.

A spokesman for the company said: 'Mercedes-Benz does not use defeat devices which illegitimately limit the effectiveness of the exhaust after treatment system. 

'This applies to every Mercedes-Benz diesel and petrol engine worldwide. Our cars have passed all the relevant authority emissions tests.'

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