The German carmaker's top boss in the US has stepped down almost six months after the firm became embroiled in an emissions cheating scandal. Michael Horn said he was leaving Volkswagen to "pursue other opportunities."
Image: Reuters/D. Ornitz
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Volkswagen announced on Wednesday that Horn would leave "effective immediately" by mutual agreement with the company.
"I want personally to say 'thank you' to Michael Horn for the great work he has done for the brand and with the dealers in the United States," said Herbert Diess, chief executive of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, in a company statement.
Horn became CEO of the Volkswagen Group of America in January 2014. He was in charge last September when the US Environmental Protection Agency issued a public notice of violation of the Clean Air Act to VW. The firm was accused of installing defeat devices and software in at least 11 million vehicles worldwide, many in the United States.
Horn himself made the headlines, saying - while at a car launch event - that the company had "totally screwed up."
Horn was sent to apologize to consumers at a congressional hearing in October, when he told lawmakers that top executives had no knowledge of the cheating software.
"To my understanding this was not a corporate decision, this was something individuals did," Horn said, adding that he felt personally deceived.
In its statement, VW said the group's North American regional head, Hinrich J. Woebcken, would be taking over at the helm on an interim basis.
10 things you (probably) didn't know about Volkswagen
'Diesel-gate' has everyone talking about the German carmaker. But what do you really know about the company that brought you Das Auto?
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/I. Wagner
The people's car
Did you know that Volkswagen - or the 'people's car' - was Adolf Hitler's brainchild, and that it was developed by Porsche founder Ferdinand Porsche? In 1938, Hitler even had built an entire city just to house the factory and its workers. First known as "City of the [Kraft durch Freude] Car at Fallersleben," it was renamed Wolfsburg on May 25, 1945. To this day, the city remains home to VW.
Image: DW/J. Dumalaon
The world's #1 love-bug
From Hitler's wet dream on wheels to the world's favorite love-bug: The original Beetle - known in Germany as 'Der Käfer' - ruled the list of the world's best-selling car for much of the 20th century. By the time production was discontinued in 2003, more than 21.5 million Beetles had been sold worldwide.
Image: DW/E. Schuhmann
Volkswagen's many faces
The company has come a long way since the 1930s. The Volkswagen Group's garage currently fits 12 brands under its roof. Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche and Skoda are among its best-selling subsidiaries, accounting for 37 percent of 2014 sales.
Image: Audi AG
Market domination
Today, Volkswagen really has become the "People's Car": The Group accounts for more than every third car - 36 percent, to be exact - sold in Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
1 out of 10 cars worldwide
Globally, more than 1 out of every 10 cars sold in 2014 was a Volkswagen Group brand. The company sold more than 10.2 million vehicles in that year. 7 out of 10 were sold outside Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Z. Junxiang
US market an uphill battle
The coveted US market has proven to be a real thorn in the eye for the German carmaker. Just 6 percent of its cars - or some 600,000 - were sold abroad. Despite huge investments, its market share there has been stuck at about 2 percent, trailing far behind competitors like GM, Ford and Toyota.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Pole position at stake?
In July, 2015 Volkswagen overtook Toyota as the world's top-selling carmaker. It's also the world's biggest automotive company by revenue. In 2014, it reported sales of 202.5 billion euros. Profit after tax came in at 11.1 billion euros. But after the emissions scandal, analysts warn VW's pole position could be at risk.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Global employer
As of December 31, 2014, the Group employed nearly 600,000 workers, making it one of the biggest employers worldwide. More than a third - some 270,000 - worked at one of its German locations.
Image: picture alliance/dpa
Germany's biggest industry
The auto industry is the largest sector in the Germany economy, fuelled by the so-called 'Big Three' - Daimler, BMW and VW. Combined, the industry employs nearly 800,000 people - or almost 2 percent of the German workforce.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Weißbrod
German cars drive exports
The German car industry's total revenue nearly topped 370 billion euros in 2014. It made up about one-fifth of the country's exports, and contributed around 3 percent to German GDP.
