Chief Executive Volkswagen Matthias Mueller is optimistic about his company’s future after a big diesel-emission scandal that has jolted it.
In a meeting with the managers, he said the company can shine again in two to three years. The company needed to become leaner and take decisions more rapidly.
The comments came as VW said it would recall 8.5 million cars in Europe as a result of the diesel emissions scandal.
The move was prompted by Germany’s automotive watchdog, which had earlier told VW to recall 2.4 million domestic cars.
German media reports suggest the KBA had rejected VW’s proposals that car owners could voluntarily bring their cars in for repair.
VW gave no details of the recall and said it would contact individual customers directly.
It added that it was working on solutions to fix the recalled cars at full speed.
Mueller took over as chief executive last month when the previous head, Mr Winterkorn, stepped down as a result of the scandal.
He told managers on Thursday: ‘We will significantly streamline structures, processes and (decision-making) bodies. We must become leaner and take decisions more rapidly.’
‘Our competitors are only waiting for us to fall behind on technology matters because we are so preoccupied with ourselves. But we won’t let that happen,’ he added.
