Volkswagen's new leader promised that the company will survive a scandal over its gaming of U.S. diesel emissions standards and said a technical solution is imminent for owners of the affected vehicles.

Matthias Muller, who took over the global automaker after the late-September departure of Martin Winterkorn, imparted words of encouragement to more than 20,000 employees during an Oct. 6 meeting at the Wolfsburg assembly plant.

"We can and we will overcome this crisis, because Volkswagen is a group with a strong foundation," Muller said. "And above all because we have the best automobile team anyone could wish for."

Muller acknowledged that the revelations have caused a "crisis of confidence" and said the company's decision to add software that circumvents diesel emissions testing would cause "enormous financial damage."

Volkswagen will release an action plan so owners can bring their vehicles to a dealership for the fix. About 480,000 Volkswagen vehicles and 15,000 Audi vehicles were sold in the U.S. market with the software cheat.