Volkswagen's U.S. CEO leaves suddenly after ‘mutual agreement'

The decision was mutual and Horn, 54, will be replaced for now by executive Hinrich Woebcken, the company said in a statement. Horn became the brand's U.S. CEO in January 2014 and improved dealer relations so much that when the years of cheating came to light in September 2015, independent retailers lobbied for him to remain on the job and said his removal would be "catastrophic."
Horn had been a public face for the brand, apologizing repeatedly at auto shows and other events, and his departure caught analysts and key dealers off-guard. Apologies aside, U.S. sales have fallen for four straight months and the Wolfsburg, Germany-based company has been unable to reach an agreement with U.S. and California regulators.
"People know this scandal was rooted in Germany, which is why this is so surprising," said Rebecca Lindland, senior analyst for auto researcher Kelley Blue Book. "In terms of scapegoats, there are other goats out there who would have been better" to take the fall.
In October, Horn told Congress the cheating was the work of a few employees and not known by top executives in Germany -- though acknowledging at the time: "I agree it'shard to believe." Two weeks later, Manager Magazine reported that former Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn and other senior leaders knew of the manipulation early on.
The unresolved issues with U.S. and California regulators include how to fix some 600,000 cars on the road in the U.S. and ways to address environmental damage as they spew as much as 40 times the allowable amount of smog-forming nitrogen oxide.
The VW brand's monthly declines since the scandal include a 13 percent drop in February that was larger than analysts had estimated. Before the admission that its diesel-powered cars included a so-called defeat device that controlled emissions only during tests, those models made up about 20 percent of VW sales in the U.S. In January, Horn said that only a relatively small number of U.S. drivers wanted to trade in their over-polluting cars.
"What could he have done, besides give cars away?" said Maryann Keller, an independent auto industry consultant in Stamford, Connecticut.
"This is not fixable by any one person in the United States. This has to be fixed by someone in Germany."

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