Volkswagen chief Martin Winterkorn on Tuesday offered his "deepest apologies" for the pollution-cheating scandal engulfing the auto giant and threatening to tarnish Germany's industrial reputation.

"I am infinitely sorry that we have disappointed people's trust. I offer my deepest apologies to our customers, the authorities and to the public at large for our misconduct," the 68-year-old executive said in a video statement after VW admitted that 11 million of its diesel cars worldwide had been fitted with devices that could skew emissions data.