What may be the worst month in Volkswagen's corporate history is about to get a cherry on top, when the CEO of Volkswagen of America CEO Michael Horn is set undergo the Kangaroo Court treatment, when he testifies before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee investigating last month's admission the company had installed on-board computer software designed to cheat on government emissions tests in nearly 500,000 of its four-cylinder "clean diesel" cars starting with the 2009 model year.
According to ABC, an advance copy of Horn's prepared remarks provided to the committee Wednesday revealed VW's plans to withdraw applications seeking U.S. emissions certifications for its 2016 model Jettas, Golfs, Passats and Beetles with diesel engines. That raised questions about whether a so-called "defeat device" similar to that in earlier models is also in the new cars.
By withdrawing the applications for the 2016 models, VW is leaving thousands of diesel vehicles stranded at ports nationwide, giving dealers no new diesel-powered vehicles to sell. It wasn't immediately clear when VW would refile its application, but Horn's testimony said the company is working with regulators to get certification.
In other words, the massive "channel stuffing" car parking lots previously observed in the vicinity of major US ports are about to get even bigger.
More on today's hearing:
Thursday's appearance will be the first on Capitol Hill by Horn, a 51-year-old German and veteran VW manager who took the reins of the brand's American subsidiary last year. He is expected to face blistering questions about when top executives at the company first learned of the scheme.
Horn will tell Congress he only learned about the cheating software "over the past several weeks," VW spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan told The Associated Press Wednesday. He will also echo prior statements by the company's global chief executive apologizing for the cheating.
The agenda for today's hearing is as follows:
Panel I
Michael Horn
President and Chief Executive Officer
Volkswagen Group of America
Witness Testimony [5]
Panel II
Christopher Grundler
Director
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
Office of Air and Radiation
Witness Testimony [6]
Phillip Brooks
Director
Air Enforcement Division
Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The live webcast from the hearing is below:
