Volkswagen emissions scandal: VW appoints new chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch
Embattled car manufacturer Volkswagen has wasted no time appointing a new chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch, previously chairman of the company's financial services arm, is the man with the unenviable task of helping to steer the company through the next few months.
Poetsch replaces Ferdinand Piech, who stepped down in April after a power struggle with recently-ousted chief executive Martin Winterkorn.
Read more: Here's what the VW scandal could do to the German economy
Technically, Poetsch is the chairman of the supervisory board, with acts as a "father figure", giving the final yes or no over tough decisions (including whether to install software that causes cars to cheat on emissions test? Difficult to say).
In a statement today, Poetsch said "conjecture or vague, nebulous information [does] not serve anyone".
"Today’s [board] meeting showed once again that the investigations are being pursued systematically and intensively. The law firm Jones Day, commissioned by the supervisory board, to conduct the external investigation is literally leaving no stone unturned.
"We will closely follow and support this process. And we will do what is required of us to make sure that the necessary consequences are drawn from the investigation.”
VW shares were up eight per cent at €104.6 in mid-afternoon trading.