Michael Horn, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, in prepared remarks, apologized and said that the company is "determined to make things right."
Horn's remarks were made public a day before he was due to testify before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Thursday.
"Let me be clear, we at Volkswagen take full responsibility for our actions and we are working with all relevant authorities in a cooperative way. I am here to offer the commitment of Volkswagen AG to work with this Committee to understand what happened, and how we will move forward," Horn wrote.
Horn outlined a series of actions the company was planning to take to remedy the situation. Among them: conducting global investigations, developing remedies and communicating openly.
He said the company would examine compliance and standards to "make certain that something like this cannot happen again." The company has set up a service line and website for the public to access. Horn also said that he had sent a letter to every affected customer.
"These events are deeply troubling. I did not think that something like this was possible at the Volkswagen Group. We have broken the trust of our customers, dealerships, and employees, as well as the public and regulators," he wrote.