Wolfgang Hatz has been Porsche’s top engineer in its R&D department.
In the wake of the diesel emission scandal, Porsche’s top engineer has left the company for greener pastures, said Porsche, while clarifying that investigations so far have found no evidence of wrong doing against him.
Porsche’s top engineer, Wolfgang Hatz, who used to head the engine development group at Volkswagen and was Porsche’s R&D chief since 2011, was suspended along with other senior managers once the “Dieselgate” scandal broke ground.
Porsche has said, as Hatz’s suspension was in force for as long as 7 months, without there being any conclusive evidence of wrong doing on his part, Hatz has decided to leave the company.
Last month, Volkswagen had disclosed that Jones Day, a U.S. law firm was close to completing its investigation, which is currently at an advanced stage and is due for completion in the fourth quarter. Jones Day is examining what role, if any, has been played by senior executives in the scandal.
Micheal Steiner, who currently heads quality management at Porsche, has been appointed by the company’s board to replace Hatz. Steiner was also a former manager at Daimler.
Earlier last month Volkswagen had announced that it has concluded a deal with U.S. regulators wherein it will either potentially fix or buyback the 500,000 diesel cars, which sources and analysts say could cost the company at least $10 billion.
This does not include the 90,000 odd Porsche, Audi and other VW models equipped with the six-cylinder diesel engines that have been developed by Audi, that do not comply with U.S. clean air standards.
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