Separately, U.S. Senators Ed Markey of MA and Richard Blumenthal of CT on Thursday released a letter calling on the automaker to buy back diesel vehicles that don’t meet pollution standards.
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Horn also said the company will soon have a remedy for the nearly 500,000 cars sold in the USA involved in the scandal.
A simple hardware solution could reduce total recall costs for the 11 million affected vehicles worldwide by 3 billion euros and enable VW to fix the cars more rapidly, Arndt Ellinghorst, of banking advisory firm Evercore ISI, said in a note sent to reporters.
Michael Horn is the head of Volkswagen’s USA operations.
As the investigation into the Volkswagen “dieselgate” emissions scandal continues, it seems inevitable that the tentacles of law-enforcers will reach beyond the walls of the German carmaker. In total, that could mean at least $120 million in benefits to the participating owners.
Last week, Volkswagen said it was offering a $500 prepaid Visa gift card, a separate card good for $500 toward services at a VW dealerships and free 24-hour roadside assistance for three years.
Horn said that while the company has expressed regret over its actions and “can’t stop apologizing”, it was fully aware that “apologies are not enough”. “We will take care of our customers, but this will take time”.
“It was very important they show regret about what happened as well as a clear plan going forward”, said Karl Brauer, an analyst at Kelley Blue Book, a valuation and automotive research company.
The automaker is approaching a Friday deadline to submit draft plans for the fixes to the California Air Resources Board.
Now the United States Department of Justice wants to know how pervasive the cheating was at Volkswagen and its suppliers: who knew that the software was being used in illegal ways, and who merely did what they were asked.
In early October the prosecutor’s office in Braunschweig said Oct. 8 that three state attorneys and 50 state police officers searched Volkswagen’s headquarters, as well as private homes, in Wolfsburg and other locations.
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“They still have a dedicated fan base, many of them diesel owners and… the majority seems to be remaining loyal to the company”, Brauer said.
