“We’re in the process of ruthlessly investigating the issue, and to that end everything will be put on the table as fast, thoroughly and transparently as possible,” Winterkorn says in a video posted on the automaker’s website.

Bloomberg
Berlin

Volkswagen chief executive officer Martin Winterkorn vowed to get to the bottom of the scandal shaking the German carmaker and promised to do everything possible to prevent such an incident from happening again as the probe into VW’s diesel manipulations expanded around the globe.
“At this point, I don’t have the answers to all the questions,” Winterkorn said in a video posted on the automaker’s website.
“But we’re in the process of ruthlessly investigating the issue, and to that end everything will be put on the table as fast, thoroughly and transparently as possible.”
VW earlier yesterday said 11mn vehicles were equipped with diesel engines at the centre of a widening scandal over faked pollution controls that will cost the company at least €6.5bn ($7.3bn).
The shares declined as much as €30.85, bringing its drop in two days to as much as 38%, or about €25bn in market value.
To address the growing crisis, the executive committee of the carmaker’s supervisory board will meet today, said people familiar with the matter.
“It’s not just a US matter for VW — you have regulators all over the globe looking into it with potentially numerous fines to come,” said Vincenzo Longo, a strategist for IG Group in Milan.
“We don’t see any stop to this bloodbath unless there is a change at the head of VW and full cooperation with authorities. Some heads need to roll to get investors buying back VW.”
Winterkorn has been at the centre of scrutiny since the US Environmental Protection Agency revealed on Friday that VW cheated on air-pollution tests. While the 68-year-old CEO repeated yesterday that he’s deeply sorry and promised a thorough investigation, he didn’t specifically comment on his role. He’ll need to explain to the supervisory board, which was set to vote this week on his contract extension, how deep the malfeasance spread throughout the carmaker.
The woes follow record earnings last year, when the company’s operating profit climbed 8.8% to €12.7bn after selling more than 10mn vehicles for the first time.
Regulators from Germany, France, South Korea and Italy have vowed to scrutinise Volkswagen’s vehicles. Germany said it will send an investigative team led by Deputy Transport Minister Michael Odenwald to VW’s headquarters in Wolfsburg this week to speak with officials and examine documents. The team will seek to determine whether the cars affected in the case were built according to German and European standards, the ministry said.
“I hope the facts can be on the table as quickly as possible,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday.
“Volkswagen is working at full speed to clarify irregularities concerning a particular software used in diesel engines,” the company said in a statement. The manufacturer said the money that’s being set aside could increase as investigations continue, adding that earnings forecasts for 2015 will be adjusted to take into account the costs of the scandal.
The so-called defeat device was installed in a certain type of diesel engine, which powers models including the VW Passat sedan and the Audi A3 compact. For the majority of the 11mn vehicles involved, the software has no effect, VW said. Regulators will be looking to verify that after VW dragged its feet on the US investigation for nearly a year. The EPA probe alone exposes the company to fines of as much as $18bn.
The US Justice Department has begun its own probe into the matter, according to two US officials familiar with the inquiry.
Porsche, the holding company that owns 51% of Volkswagen’s voting shares, said VW’s provision will also have an effect on its profit this year.