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Volkswagen's Emissions Cheating Scandal is getting worse fast, and the executive board is in full-speed amputation mode to stop the spread of the damage.
Matthias Müller, the head of Porsche, will replace former VW CEO Martin Winterkorn, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal and Reuters.
German magazine Der Spiegel reports that the heads of R&D at VW, Audi, and Porsche, Heinz-Jakob Neusser and Ulrich Hackenberg, and Wolfgang Hatz, are also losing their jobs.
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Michael Horn, the head of VW’s US operations, is also getting axed, according to Automotive News.
Winterkorn resigned a few days after the EPA accused VW of using an algorithm that detects when its diesel cars are being tested and changes their performance to meet emissions standards.
The rest of the time, the cars produce up to 40 times the legal limit of nitrogen oxides (NOx), the stuff linked to asthma and other respiratory problems. The accusation applies to 482,000 diesel-powered, four-cylinder cars in the US, and 11 million cars worldwide.
Read more: > VW facing largest ever UK Class Action Lawsuit over emissions fraud
VW’s executive board said yesterday it expected
Müller, 62, has been running Porsche for nearly five years, in which time the sports car brand has greatly expanded its sales volume and profits.