VW to launch recall, picks new chairman

October 7, 2015 at 10:31 a.m. | Updated October 8, 2015 at 10:05 a.m.

by Staff Reports , Wire Service

FILE - In this Sept. 23, 2015 file photo, diesel Volkswagens are seen behind a security fence on a storage lot near a VW dealership in Salt Lake City. Volkswagen is far from the first company to stand accused of trying to game required emissions tests. Almost since the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970, major manufacturers of cars, trucks and heavy equipment have been busted for using what regulators call “defeat devices” _ typically programing a vehicle’s on-board computer to boost horsepower or fuel mileage by belching out dirtier exhaust than allowed. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 23, 2015 file photo, diesel Volkswagens are seen behind a security fence on a storage lot near a VW dealership in Salt Lake City. Volkswagen is far from the first company to stand accused of trying to game required emissions tests. Almost since the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970, major manufacturers of cars, trucks and heavy equipment have been busted for using what regulators call “defeat devices” _ typically programing a vehicle’s on-board computer to boost horsepower or fuel mileage by belching out dirtier exhaust than allowed. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
photo FILE - In this March 12, 2012 file photo Volkswagen member of the board Dieter Poetsch poses for the media prior to the company's annual press conference in Wolfsburg, Germany. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)

Volkswagen will launch a recall for cars affected by its diesel emissions crisis in January and complete the fix by the end of next year, CEO Matthias Mueller said in an interview with a German newspaper.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that Mueller also told the German newspaper he believed only a few employees were involved in the scandal, refuting the notion that his predecessor, Martin Winterkorn, must have known about it.

Also, VW has elected Chief Financial Officer Hans Dieter Poetsch to chair its board of directors, a move that comes amid a scandal over emission-test rigging that's roiling the German automaker.

The company's board of directors made the announcement today during a meeting at the company's home plant in Wolfsburg, Germany.

Poetsch's status as a company insider has provoked criticism that he is too close to current management to be able to deal with the scandal's fallout.

But he retains the backing of major shareholders, including the Piech and Porsche families. They have a majority of voting share through a holding company.

He fills a position vacated when longtime chairman Ferdinand Piech resigned in April.

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