VW CEO says arrest of Audi's Stadler hard to comprehend

The CEO of Volkswagen, Herbert Diess, told a German newspaper the arrest of Audi head Rupert Stadler was a shock and hard to comprehend.

VW has suspended Stadler, head of VW's most profitable brand, after German authorities arrested him as part of an emissions probe.

 “It was a massive shock for me. The arrest of a CEO of a major car brand: that's never happened before,” Diess told Germany newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

“The arrest is hard to comprehend. I knew Rupert Stadler as a problem solver,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. Diess said that for him, Diess was innocent until proven guilty.

Stadler, who has not made any public comment, has not been charged and prosecutors are set to continue questioning him next week.