London
CNN
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Volkswagen has cut ties with Audi CEO Rupert Stadler, who has been suspended and jailed since June as part of an emissions investigation.
Stadler has left the board of management of Volkswagen (VLKAF), the parent company of Audi, and resigned as chairman of the board of the premium brand, the automaker announced in a statement on Tuesday.
“Due to his ongoing pre-trial detention, he is unable to fulfil his duties as a member of the board of directors and wishes to concentrate on his defence,” Stadler’s statement said.
Munich prosecutors said in June that Stadler, who has worked for Volkswagen since 1990, was arrested over concerns he could influence witnesses in an ongoing investigation.
He is the most senior Volkswagen executive to be arrested in connection with a costly diesel emissions scandal that broke in 2015.
Volkswagen had already said Stadler would be considered innocent until proven guilty. Audi chose its sales chief to lead the company after Stadler’s arrest.
The German carmaker has admitted to rigging millions of diesel engines to cheat emissions tests.
Diesel cars from Volkswagen and its subsidiary Audi have circumvented air quality rules by using software that made emissions appear less toxic than they actually were.
The scandal sent Volkswagen’s stock price plunging and shook consumer and regulator confidence in diesel technology. The episode has already cost Volkswagen more than $30 billion in vehicle recalls, legal penalties and out-of-court settlements.
In a separate announcement Tuesday, Volkswagen said it would offer incentives to customers in Germany who wanted to trade in their older diesel cars for cleaner models.
Martin Winterkorn, former Volkswagen CEO, was indicted in May by U.S. prosecutors on charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud American customers and violating the Clean Air Act.
Matthias Mueller, who had been appointed to replace Winterkorn, resigned earlier this year and was replaced by BMW (BMWYY) veteran Herbert Diess.
At a press conference in April, Diess acknowledged that Volkswagen had “lost a lot of trust” and that it would take years to restore public confidence in the automaker.