VW's US chief apologizes to Congress for emissions scandal

The head of Volkswagen's US division apologized to Congress and said the company takes "full responsibility" for an emissions cheating scandal, according to testimony released Oct. 7.

Michael Horn, president and chief executive of Volkswagen Group of America, said it was "deeply troubling" that the company installed a "defeat device" on several diesel models for years to hide from regulators the cars' actual gas emissions when in use.    

"On behalf of our company, and my colleagues in Germany, I would like to offer a sincere apology for Volkswagen's use of a software program that served to defeat the regular emissions testing regime," he said in the testimony prepared for a Capitol Hill hearing Oct. 8.
 
"These events are deeply troubling," Horn said. "We have broken the trust of our customers, dealerships, and employees, as well as the public and regulators."  

Horn is to appear at a hearing into the scandal of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.    

The hearing will also include testimony from the Environmental Protection Agency, which sets the emissions standards for cars in the United States.
 
Horn also announced that VW had withdrawn its application for EPA certification of its new 2016 four-cylinder diesel cars because they also included a software device governing emissions that needed to be disclosed and assessed.
 
He added that Volkswagen was working with regulators "to continue the certification process."  

"We are determined to make things right," Horn said.    

"This includes accepting the consequences of our acts, providing a remedy and beginning to restore the trust of our customers, dealerships, employees, the...