Martin Winterkorn, VW’s chief executive of the Volkswagen Group, has resigned following the revellation that VW used sophisticated software and sensors to cheat at diesel emissions tests.

It was also thought that Michael Horn, the president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, could find his own job in jeopardy, but the company confirmed that he will remain in his post.

In a statement he said: “I am doing this in the interests of the company even though I am not aware of any wrong doing on my part…”

For now however, the crisis shows no sign of abating with the USA environmental regulator refusing to authorise the sale of Volkswagen’s new diesel models.

The software at the centre of Volkswagen’s emissions scandal in the United States was built into its cars in Europe as well, though it is not yet clear if it helped cheat tests as it did in the US.

Switzerland has temporarily banned the sale of Volkswagen (VW) diesel-engine models which could have devices capable of tricking emission tests.

However, he also said he didn’t how numerous 11 million vehicles were in Europe.

France and Britain have announced new checks and the European Union has urged its 28 member states to investigate whether vehicles in their countries complied with pollution rules.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found the software on VW diesel cars showed false emission data.

Volkswagen’s supervisory board appointed the 62-year-old Mueller, a longtime company insider, on Friday. The company faces as much as $18 billion in penalties in the USA alone.

Volkswagen made a decision to combine its operations in the US, Mexico and Canada under one North American division, led by Winfried Vahland, formerly Škoda’s chairman.

In particular, that science service had warned that results from laboratory testing could be skewed by companies’ use of so-called “defeat devices”, which turn on emissions controls during tests but turn them off when cars are being driven under normal conditions. “If we manage to achieve that then the Volkswagen Group with its innovative strength, its strong brands and above all its competent and highly motivated team has the opportunity to emerge from this crisis stronger than before”, Müller said in a statement.

Sixty-two-year-old Müller previously worked as Volkswagen’s head product strategist before taking the reins at Porsche – owned by Volkswagen Group – in 2010.