The dark cloud over auto maker Volkswagen (XETRA:VOW) shows no sign of dissipating after it warned the emissions test cheating scandal could cost more than originally expected.
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The chief executive of Volkswagen said on Thursday (April 28) that he personally apologised to President Barack Obama this week for cheating on vehicle emissions tests, speaking up for its American workforce as the German carmaker negotiates penalties with U.S. officials. Mueller said regaining that trust was the company’s “most important task” in the coming months.
The company plans in particular to step up development of electric vehicles and digital services.
But it warned of challenges ahead, as it strives to make big savings at its underperforming VW brand in the face of union opposition and reform a highly centralised company structure blamed for lax controls and delays to new models.
The emission equipment for their new diesel engine would wear out faster if it was calibrated to meet the strict emission standards in the U.S. The presentation provided a fix, albeit one that was illegal.
An unnamed government official in Germany has reportedly revealed that Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi, Opel and Mercedes-Benz will be recalling a total of 630,000 diesel-powered vehicles in the country to rectify their emissions management software. That improved performance and mileage but meant the vehicles spewed out far more than the legal limit of pollutants.
Mueller apologized again for the scandal, telling the company’s annual news conference in Wolfsburg, Germany, that “we disappointed many people who trusted Volkswagen”.
The Dieselgate scandal over software and defeat devices created to cheat emissions regulations on over eleven million diesel Volkswagen cars around the world is a never-ending saga, with a new report suggesting that the company held a presentation designed by executives outlining a plan to cheat on emissions tests all the way back in 2006.
Analysts say the final bill likely will be much higher when including the impact of lower sales. “Just in 2015, the net liquidity for the company’s automobile business rose by nearly 40 percent to 24.5 billion euros”. Revenue rose 5.4 percent to 213 billion euros ($242 billion).
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Müller said the company would open up a lot more to cooperation with other business partners, adding that his “2025 Strategy” for transforming the firm would be presented to the public in June.
