Winterkorn said in a statement: "I am shocked by the events of the past few days. Above all, I am stunned that misconduct on such a scale was possible in the Volkswagen Group."

On Tuesday, the company said 11 million cars worldwide carry its shady emissions software. (Video via Volkswagen USA)

And governments around the world have called for investigations.

Volkswagen is already expected to recall half a million vehicles sold between 2009 and 2015 in the U.S. and could face fines up to $18 billion from that government alone.

The company has announced it will set aside roughly $7 billion to cover repairs to recalled cars in the U.S.

This video includes an image from Getty Images.