Attorney General George Jepsen is criticizing Volkswagen CEO Matthias Müller for what he calls “disturbing” comments the automaker chief made at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Jepsen is one of the state attorneys general leading a multistate investigation into the VW emissions cheating scandal.
Müller told an NPR reporter the scandal resulted from a technical problem. He said, “We made a default, we had a … not the right interpretation of the American law.”
Jepsen found fault with that. He said in a statement, “In an apparent moment of candor in Detroit, we now learn that the company’s newly appointed and most senior leader doesn’t believe Volkswagen lied, which is undisputable.”
The German automaker admitted in mid-September that some of its cars had used software designed to cheat emissions tests.
Jepsen added the German automaker needs to move beyond “empty apologies and hollow pledges of cooperation.” He called on the company to provide regulators with requested documents and be upfront about how it plans to fix its vehicles.
