Volkswagen has made sweeping changes to its senior management team as it attempts to cut costs and overhaul its culture following the diesel emissions scandal.
The German carmaker has almost halved the number of senior managers reporting directly to Matthias Müller, the chief executive, and brought in several new faces.
Müller has pledged to transform the notoriously unwieldy structure of VW after the company admitted that the emissions scandal had occurred because of a “whole chain” of errors and a corporate mindset that tolerated rule-breaking.
He said the management changes would “speed up the decision-making process, reduce complexity and increase efficiency”.
VW has admitted installing defeat devices in 11m of its vehicles worldwide. The carmaker faces the prospect of having to pay tens of billions of euros in fines and compensation to customers.
The woes it faces worsened this week when the European Union’s anti-fraud office, Olaf, confirmed it is investigating loans that VW received from the European Investment Bank to develop cleaner engines. In total VW received an estimated €9.5bn (£6.9bn) in loans from the EIB.
The management changes at VW include Ulrich Eichhorn becoming head of research and development.
He replaces Ulrich Hackenberg, who left the company earlier this month after being suspended for two months as part of the investigation into the emissions scandal.
Eichhorn previously worked for VW and its brands, including Bentley, for more than a decade until he left in 2012 to take up a position with an industry trade body in Germany.
Other changes include Fred Kappler, the head of group services, becoming head of sales, while Porsche veteran Michael Mauer takes over group design and former Seat executive Wolfram Thomas takes charge of production.
Müller said: “Our new lean structure will enable us to develop the considerable potential of our company, its brands and employees to great effect. We will see faster decision-making and more efficient action.”
VW plans to begin work on repairing the 8.5m cars in Europe affected by the diesel emissions scandal in January.
The German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) has given the company the green light to install software and a flow transformer device, part of the air intake system, into the diesel engines that contain software designed to cheat emissions tests.
VW will begin the process of repairing vehicles early next year by sending letters to motorists. This letter will advise customers that their vehicles are scheduled to be repaired but to await further instructions. A second letter will then tell affected motorists to contact a local engineer in “good time” to fix their vehicle.
Vehicles with a 1.2-litre or 2-litre engine will be fixed with a software update that can be installed in less than 30 minutes. However, 1.6-litre cars will require a new part to be placed in the vehicle, which will take less than an hour.
The recall will begin with 2-litre cars in the first quarter of 2016, followed by 1.2-litre cars in the second quarter and 1.6-litre cars in the third quarter.
VW has said it will provide compensation for customers for any fall in the residual value of their car, but the German company is yet to announce its plans. Customers will be provided with a free hire-car while their vehicle is being repaired.
