U.S.

Volkswagen Takes Apology Tour To Congress

Volkswagen's Michael Horn apologized in front of a U.S. congressional panel Thursday.

Volkswagen Takes Apology Tour To Congress
Getty Images / Chip Somodevilla
SMS

The head of Volkswagen’s U.S. division apologized for the company’s emissions scandal as he appeared before a congressional panel Thursday.

CEO Michael Horn told lawmakers he knew there was an issue concerning vehicle emissions standards last spring but said he was not aware of the so-called "defeat device" that helped its vehicles cheat emissions tests.

“Let me be very clear about this," Horn said.  "While I was told about the EPA process, I was not then told nor did I have any reason to believe our vehicles included such a device.”

Horn blamed software engineers for the problem. Nearly 500,000 Volkswagen diesel cars in the U.S. and up to 11 million vehicles worldwide were affected by the emissions scandal.

This video includes images from Getty Images.