BERLIN – Continental replaces Wolfgang Schäfer as Chief Financial Officer after an investigation by the public prosecutor into the illegal use of defeat devices in diesel engines.

In an extraordinary meeting, the supplier supervisory board decided and agreed that CEO Nikolai Setzer will take over Schäfer’s duties.

“These changes have been made within the framework of the already known investigations by the Hanover public prosecutor’s office into the illegal use of defeat devices in diesel engines and deficiencies in the ongoing investigations by Continental,” said Continental on Wednesday.

“Continental is investigating the case rigorously and thoroughly and is cooperating unconditionally with the public prosecutor,” it said.

As part of an investigation into the exhaust gas cheating devices of the Volkswagen Group, the company locations in Hanover and Regensburg were searched last year. Prosecutors are investigating the supplier’s role in supplying engine components for a 1.6-liter VW diesel engine that violated emission limits and masked excessive pollution with illegal software.

Schäfer was appointed Continental’s CFO in 2010. In 2019, his appointment was extended to 2024.

Continental is the sixth largest automotive supplier in the world Automotive news” Leading supplier ranking worldwide with sales of 29.68 billion US dollars to automakers in 2020.