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VW CEO Winterkorn issues video apology for diesel scandal

Amid rumors that he might step down from the automaker, Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn has issued a video statement publicly apologizing for the company's diesel emissions scandal. The boss claims that he doesn't have the answers to all of the questions yet but promises a thorough investigation to makes things right. Multiple times in the speech, he asks forgiveness from customers all over the world and asks people not to blame all of the company's 600,000 employees for this lapse. At no point does Winterkorn mention resigning, though. You can watch the whole clip above, but it's in German, so turn on the subtitles. However, Winterkorn's future with VW isn't assured, and works council boss Bernd Osterloh appears ready to make some changes. "I can assure you that we will do everything possible in the supervisory board meetings this week to ensure the matter is cleared up quickly and that personnel consequences are drawn. And that will not just affect the rank and file, I can assure you," he said in a letter to Bild, according to Reuters. Earlier today, the automaker admitted that the same engine management software is in vehicles from other VW group brands, but it claims that the Type EA 189 engine is the only one with a deviation between test results and real-world numbers. That mill is installed in 11 million vehicles across the globe. As a start, VW is earmarking 6.5 billion euros ($7.3 billion at current rates) to service them. The actual costs could go much higher, though.

Volkswagen Group Chairman Ferdinand Piech resigns

Ferdinand Piech, Volkswagen Group's chairman of the supervisory board, has resigned from the company. His wife, Ursula, has also left her position on the board. A statement put out by VW in German said the move was due to the fact that "mutual trust is no longer present," and the board's deputy chairman, Berthold Huber, will be interim chairman. It's been just two weeks since Ferdinand Piech told Germany's Der Spiegel magazine that he didn't want Group CEO Martin Winterkorn to become the next chairman and that he was keeping the CEO at a distance. That public comment surprised just about everyone, and led to a meeting in Piech's office in Austria. The leadership committee supported Winterkorn, and that was backed up by official, pro-Winterkorn messages from VW labor leaders and the German state of Lower Saxony. After that meeting, Piech agreed to support Winterkorn in public, but it was widely suspected that the fight wasn't over. Now it might be. This is not a changing, but rather an explosion of the guard. Piech lived for VW, and he and his Porsche kin still have a 51-percent stake in the Volkswagen Group. Frankly, we have a feeling that this still isn't over. The official statement from VW in English is below. Statement of the Executive Committee of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg, 25 April 2015 -- The Executive Committee of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG discussed again today in detail the situation of the Volkswagen Group. 1.: The members of the Executive Committee have unanimously determined that in view of the background of the last weeks the mutual trust necessary for successful cooperation no longer exists. 2.: For this reason Professor Dr. Ferdinand K. Piech has resigned with immediate effect from his position as Chairman of the Supervisory Board and from all his mandates as a Supervisory Board member within the Volkswagen Group. In addition, Ms. Ursula Piech has resigned with immediate effect from all her Supervisory Board mandates within the Volkswagen Group. 3.: The position of Chairman of the Supervisory Board will be temporarily assumed by the Deputy Chairman Berthold Huber. Mr. Berthold Huber will chair both the Supervisory Board meeting on May 4 as well as the Annual General Meeting on May 5, 2015. 4.: Under the chair of Mr. Berthold Huber the representatives of shareholders and employees will in close cooperation determine the candidate for the new Chairman of the Supervisory Board.

Everyone but VW and Tesla has recalled their Takata airbags

Takata's massive airbag inflator recall affected over 32 million vehicles from 11 automakers in the US, but two companies buying the supplier's parts haven't been affected so far: Volkswagen and Tesla. There are 887,055 VWs and 184,926 Teslas using Takata's inflators with ammonium-nitrate propellant, a new accounting shows, according to Automotive News. That doesn't necessarily mean the models need to be recalled. These figures came from a report that Takata prepared for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which listed all of the vehicles it supplied with ammonium nitrate-fueled inflators. The substance is believed to be linked with the components' rupturing, along with manufacturing defects and humidity. "We're not asking because we've got reports of problems; we just need to figure out what the universe is," NHTSA spokesman Gordon Trowbridge said to Automotive News. Takata reportedly told Tesla that the inflators in its EVs are not affected with these problems, and VW is investigating a case in June where a side airbag allegedly burst in a 2015 Tiguan, Automotive News reports. The government is also still researching the precise cause of the parts' ruptures. If the investigation finds ammonium nitrate to be a factor, the vehicles could need recalled. During a Congressional hearing Takata vice president Kevin Kennedy admitted that ammonium nitrate could be among the factors of the ruptures, but the company has continued to use the chemical in its inflators. Takata is now working to transition to a different propellant. Related Video: