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VW CFO Hans Dieter Potsch nominated as new board chairman

The search for a successor to Ferdinand Piech has come to an end as the Volkswagen Group has nominated a new chairman. The Executive and Nomination committees of VW's Supervisory Board have put their weight behind one Hans Dieter Potsch, who currently serves on the company's management board as its chief financial officer. He's expected to continue in his current role until November when an extraordinary general meeting of the supervisory board can be called to confirm his nomination and a replacement CFO can be found to take his place. As you may recall, the chairmanship of the Volkswagen board fell until recently to Ferdinand Piech, grandson of Ferdinand Porsche and one of the principals of the Porsche family that holds over 50 percent ownership in Volkswagen through Porsche Automobil Holding SE. Piech went head to head with VW CEO Martin Winterkorn and ultimately lost. Piech resigned and Winterkorn is about to have his term as chief executive extended through the end of 2018. In Piech's place, former union head Berthold Huber was named as interim chairman, but is now referred to in the statement below once again as deputy chairman instead. An Austrian native, Potsch is an industrial engineer by training. He started his career at BMW where he ultimately served as group controller, and subsequently served as CFO and as chairman at a number of German corporations. Potsch joined the VW management board in 2003, initially without portfolio, and soon assumed the financial portfolio – a role he has held until now. In 2009 he took on the additional role of chief financial officer at the Porsche holding company, whose supervisory board representatives are the parties proposing Potsch's nomination as the group's new chairman – even though he is not, strictly speaking, one of their own. In a related development, it appears that Julia Kuhn-Piech will be leaving her board seat sooner than expected. The departing chairman Ferdinand Piech opposed his niece's nomination to the board in his place, and now she'll apparently be stepping down to make way for the family's new choice of chairman.

German authorities claim 2.8 million VW diesels evaded testing

While Volkswagen admits that there are 11 million diesel vehicles around the world that may be able to evade emissions testing, investigations by government authorities are starting to provide a glimpse of where some of those actually are. According to German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt, there are 2.8 million VWs in the country with the tech to cheat environmental rules, Reuters reports. In the US, at least 482,000 cars are believed to be affected. German regulators claim not knowing about the automaker's emissions testing evasions until quite recently, and Dobrindt didn't begin a fact-finding mission into the situation until just this week. Environmental agencies around the world have also begun their own inquiries into the scandal, including in Canada, South Korea, and many countries in Europe. In the US, where the story originally broke, the Department of Justice has started a criminal investigation into VW, and a maximum fine from the Environmental Protection Agency could tally $18 billion. The automaker has responded so far by setting aside about $7.3 billion to fix the affected models. CEO Martin Winterkorn is also already gone, and Porsche boss Matthias Muller is taking the top spot. The company's next moves still aren't clear, though. "VW needs to be very open about what has happened, how it was possible that this could happen to make sure that this never happens again in the future," an anonymous, top shareholder in the company said to Reuters.

VW recalls 220,000 Atlases, Atlas Cross Sports for airbag defect [Updated]

[Update: Audi of America has confirmed that no U.S. models are among the recall population for plug-in hybrid fire issue.] Volkswagen has issued yet another recall for its Atlas SUV, this time for side airbags that may not deploy correctly in an accident due to a problematic connection in one of the vehicle's wiring harnesses. The campaign covers 222,892 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport models built for the 2019-2023 model years.  The issue stems from a connection with the wiring harness that runs from the A-pillar into the door. VW says that harnesses produced by one of its suppliers were not built with additional measures to prevent movement at the connection point. Small movements can cause abrasion of the metal contacts which could lead to a whole host of electronic misadventures, including the potential for airbag deployment to be delayed in a crash.  "Micro-movement of the wire harness (terminal A-Pillar to front door) can result in damage to the wire terminal surface. Damage to the surface can [result] in fretting corrosion which may cause sporadic interruption in the electrical connection to the components of the front door," VW said in its defect notice. "The airbag warning light may illuminate if a malfunction is detected. Other symptoms of a sporadic interruption of the affected electrical connection can be: inadvertent rolling down windows, inadvertent park brake engagement at low speeds (below approx. 3km/h or 1.8mph), warning regarding faulty door sensor," VW said.  Not every model built within the range defined above is subject to the recall; terminals from other suppliers were manufactured with the necessary safeguards in place. If you own a 2019-2023 Atlas or Atlas Cross Sport, keep your eyes peeled for a notification from VW regarding the campaign, likely some time in early-mid May.  PHEV problems Across the Atlantic, the VW Group mothership confirmed that it will recall more than 100,000 plug-in hybrid models worldwide to address a fire risk. The recall was launched in response to 16 reported incidents of fires stemming from insufficient insulation of the PHEV battery pack that allows the engine cover to make contact if it is not completely secure. If that happens, the heat from the battery can ignite the engine cover. The recall will cover PHEVs build by VW, Audi, Seat and Skoda, Reuters reports, including the VW Passat, Golf, Tiguan and Arteon — plug-in variants of which are not sold in the United States.