The former one Volkswagen-Boss Matthias Müller (70) defended his predecessor Martin Winterkorn (76) in the investor process regarding the diesel affair and rejected any responsibility of his own. “The whole topic was foreign to me,” said Müller on Wednesday as a witness in the Braunschweig Higher Regional Court. Winterkorn was “completely irritated” when the scandal broke in September 2015 and called for a quick reaction.
Müller only claims to have been properly confronted with the issue after the manipulations became public. The manager was the head of the sports car manufacturer at the time Porsche and, as he himself said in court, surprisingly became Winterkorn’s successor as CEO. He never doubted that the company adhered to legal requirements, said Müller, also with a view to his previous positions in the VW Group.
Müller strongly defended Winterkorn
In the process under the Capital Investor Model Procedure Act, investors have been fighting for damages for years after suffering price losses amounting to billions. The scandal broke on September 18, 2015, when the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported manipulation of diesel car emissions tests. The plaintiff investors feel that Volkswagen informed them too late.
According to Müller, there was “great dismay” at the group board meeting on September 22nd. The following day, Winterkorn took on “political responsibility” with his resignation, as Müller said. In a one-on-one conversation that day, he seemed like “a heap of misery.” Winterkorn simply could not imagine that something like this would happen in this company, said Müller.
“If he had known about it earlier, he would have done something about it sooner,” said Müller. That is his personal opinion about Winterkorn. He himself was not aware of terms such as acoustic function or defeat device before the scandal. “I’m sorry, I had nothing to do with these things,” said Müller, referring to the year 2007, when he came to VW as head of product management.
Müller had “more of a bird’s eye view” in his role
In this role you have more of a bird’s eye view, said Müller. “I don’t think I delved into the depths of the aggregates.” He wasn’t concerned with these details. He always firmly assumed that everything was done within the framework of the legal requirements, said Müller when asked about the years 2007 and 2012. After several years of proceedings, the court currently wants to hear a total of more than 80 witnesses. After the former CEO Herbert Diess (65) and Müller, Winterkorn will be on the witness list starting next week on Wednesday.
In the proceedings under the Capital Investor Model Procedure Act, the court wants to hear a total of more than 80 witnesses after several years of proceedings. Winterkorn will also be on the witness list as a witness from February 14th.