At a time when the company is fire fighting the emissions controversy engulfing it, a self driving car expert has been poached from Apple by it.

Volkswagen is currently set to honor an agreement to mostly conclude the release of all records that have been sought by 47 US state attorneys general by the end of the year pertaining to the emissions cheating controversy. However, in the wake of the financial burden resulting from the emissions cheating crisis and the entire damage done to the brand name, Volkswagen has gone ahead and poached a leading self driving car expert from the house of Apple. This is being read as an indicative signal of Volkswagen’s intent to continue investing in cutting edge technologies despite the entire crisis resulting from emissions cheating software that was integrated in Volkswagen cars.

Investigators are currently busy with examinations of state law violations on two specific fronts with regard to the installation of emissions cheating software in 11 million diesel vehicles across the world which led to vehicles being able to lower their emission levels. Such defeat devices are completely banned in both Europe and the United States of America. Volkswagen is currently determining as to whether such software is officially to be taken as a defeat device as per European Union regulations.

The Apple car project has definitely created pressure on automobile manufacturers keeping in mind Apple’s dominance over the mobile phone market. Volkswagen has now hired self driving car expert and ex Apple executive Johann Jungwirth aged 42, signaling its intention towards investing in technologies and vehicles of the future. Jungwirth will be heading the newly established digitalization strategy department and will be reporting to the Volkswagen CEO, Matthias Mueller. Jungwirth was earlier with Daimler as director of Mac systems engineering and then moved onto a secret car project for none other than Apple.