In spite of facing criticisms for handling the emissions scandal in his recent visit to the United States, the Porsche and Piëch families still bet on the embattled Volkswagen's chief executive officer, says a report.
Matthias Müller was slammed in his visit for allegedly playing down the seriousness of the scandal in a radio interview.
Müller has been on a hot seat after blaming the scandal on a misunderstanding and considering it a technical problem instead of an ethical one. His statement left a few officials of the U.S. government upset.
Citing its source which is said to be close to the Volkswagen supervisory board, Reuters has reported that despite Müller's "mistake," the Porsche and Piëch families, who control a big chunk of Volkswagen's voting rights, still support the Volkswagen's boss.
"Everybody can see that Mr. Müller's U.S. trip was not successful. But that does not mean that we move away from him," said Reuters' source. "The Porsche and Piëch families stand firmly behind Mr. Müller."
Another insider claims that the board was all set to forgive and forget the chief executive's unsatisfactory response on the issue during his visit in the country.
The senior members of the board are slated to meet on Tuesday to talk about the internal investigation's progress regarding the scandal.
Previously, a report from the Bild am Sonntag newspaper in Germany said the number of board members, specifically powerful trade union representatives, who have doubts over Müller's leadership is increasing. Volkswagen, however, discarded this report.
Environmental officials said on Jan. 13 that talks would remain active with the company in an aim to repair almost 600,000 diesel cars involved in the emissions scandal.
Earlier this month, Volkswagen Chairman Dr. Herbert Diess apologized to the U.S. for the company's emissions scandal.
He made the apology during the first 3 minutes of his keynote speech at the 2016 CES on Jan. 5 in front of a bevy of journalists and photographers at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas.
"We disappointed our customers and the American people, for which I am truly sorry, and for which I apologize," said Diess. "We at Volkswagen are disappointed that this could happen within the company we love."
He assured that the company is doing its best "to make things right" and that they are working to find effective remedies for their customers across the globe.
