Volkswagen chief’s days appear numbered as crisis deepens

Martin Winterkorn’s days as head of Volkswagen appeared numbered yesterday after the German car maker said a scandal over falsified vehicle emission tests in the US could affect 11m of its cars worldwide.

The Tagesspiegel newspaper, citing unidentified sources on Volkswagen’s supervisory board, said the board would decide on Friday to replace Winterkorn with Matthias Mueller, the head of the carmaker’s Porsche sports car business.

A Volkswagen spokesman denied the report. A key Winterkorn ally withheld public support for the under-fire chief executive yesterday.