Volkswagen Group has appointed Daimler manager Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt as its board member for integrity and legal affairs.

Hohmann-Dennhardt, 65, will start her new job on January 1, 2016, and one of her key responsibilities will be to address the scandal over Volkswagen's rigging of diesel-emissions tests.

Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, head of the Center of Automotive Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen, said Daimler is helping VW to rebuild trust in the German car industry. "It's an important step to help VW clean up the affair," he said.