大众新CEO承诺严格规管

Matthias Mueller, head of the group's Porsche sports car brand, pledges to do everything to win back the trust of the public and make Volkswagen an even stronger company.

"I'm taking on this responsibility at a time when our company is faced with unparalleled changes indeed. I have a great deal of recognition of this but I assume this responsibility with confidence and will do everything personally to regain the trust of our customers, our employers and partners and investors and the whole public. We stand by our responsibility."

He adds that the top target is that people continue to trust their products and drive them with pleasure, and safety should always be the top priority.

"We need to be very careful, and that counts more than speed. Let me also reiterate that the safety of our vehicles has never been compromised, the safety of our customers – this is very close to my heart and to get this across."

Mueller's appointment comes after a supervisory board meeting of the company held in Berlin earlier yesterday.

Former CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned earlier this week after the US Environmental Protection Agency revealed that Volkswagen cheated during US emission tests over the past 7 years.

The EPA said Volkswagen had used illegal software during testing, which enabled its diesel cars to emit fewer pollutants compared to actual driving conditions.

Lucia Caudet, the European Commission's spokeswoman, said that the organization wants all member states to investigate the issue.

"We invite all member states - in addition to the ones who are already doing so - to carry out all the necessary investigations. We need to have the full picture of whether and how many vehicles certified in the EU were fitted with defeat devices, which is banned by EU law."

She added that the European Commission is reflecting on improving its surveillance of the auto market.

It's been estimated that 11 million cars worldwide could be affected in the scandal.

Volkswagen now faces a massive fine in the US, estimated to reach 18 billion dollars.

The shares showed an increase of 4.3% on the Frankfurt stock exchange yesterday.

For CRI, I'm Wang Mengzhen.