Last year, Volkswagen pleaded guilty to United States charges that included conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act. But the company blamed lower-level managers for the wrongdoing and maintained that no members of its top management had been involved. According to the indictment, Mr. Winterkorn was informed in early 2014 that regulators in the United States were asking why Volkswagen diesel vehicles had produced low emissions during laboratory tests but drastically higher emissions on the road. If the car was being tested, it deployed equipment to keep emissions within legal limits. Mr. Winterkorn, known as an unforgiving boss who loudly berated subordinates who failed to meet his standards, was Volkswagen’s chief executive for eight years and an influential executive for two decades.

Source: New York Times May 03, 2018 20:27 UTC