BERLIN — Volkswagen’s chief executive has apologized for using a phrase that echoed a Nazi-era slogan, “Arbeit macht frei,” or “Work sets you free,” that was emblazoned on the gates of Auschwitz and other concentration camps, saying the connection did not occur to him at the time.

The German carmaker’s chief, Herbert Diess, repeatedly said, “Ebit macht frei” — referring to profits within the company’s divisions — when speaking on Tuesday to hundreds of managers at an internal company event after Volkswagen’s annual earnings news conference, German news media reported. Ebit is an acronym for “earnings before interest and taxes.”

The next day, Mr. Diess, who took over the company last year as part of efforts to move past its emissions scandal, posted an apology on his LinkedIn page. “I did not in any way intend for this comment to be set in a false context,” Mr. Diess said. “I did not think of such a possibility at the time I said it.”

Mr. Diess said his use of the phrase had been in reference to brands within the Volkswagen Group that make more profit and therefore have more freedom to make decisions in the group, which includes the Audi, Porsche and Skoda brands, in addition to Volkswagen.