Volkswagen CEO resigns after emissions scandal

September 24, 2015



,, resigned yesterday after it was discovered the German  company has been rigging emissions tests for their.

The company has not announced who his successor will be, but plans to discuss the issue tomorrow. Winterkorn has said that he was "shocked" by the rigging of the emissions tests. "Above all, I am stunned that misconduct on such a scale was possible in the Volkswagen Group", Winterkorn said in a statement issued yesterday.

This resignation came after he issued an apology on Sunday about the emissions test rigging, which involved installing a program onto the company's diesel vehicles to manipulate test results. The program, referred to as a "defeat device", causes the vehicles to emit less, a pollutant contributing to and possibly linked to , during testing.

Volkswagen's share value has dropped by one third,  reported. The stock prices of France car manufacturers, , and have also dipped. The Associated Press states that this may be due to concerns other car manufacturers are also engaging in illegal acts.