Here is a timeline of key events in the scandal that exploded 10 days ago. German media has already reported that, far from being unaware of the problem, Volkswagen was specifically warned in 2007 to not use the software by a parts supplier.
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To succeed he’ll also have to dismantle “fortress Wolfsburg”, Mr Pieper said, referring to the automaker’s centralised oversight, which funnels decisions through its headquarters. In Germany, over 800 thousand people are directly employed by Volkswagen, and millions more jobs are linked to the company.
And according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS), a VW employee had also sounded the alarm in 2011, warning that the software may spell an “infringement” of the law.
“The transport minister found out about the allegations of manipulation the weekend before last”. But they emit higher levels of toxic nitrogen oxides, blamed for deaths from lung and heart disease. Those outcomes dismayed consumer watchdog groups and grieving victims’ relatives, who demanded better accountability for failure to disclose vehicle defects.
The U.S. authorities, including the California Air Resources Board, undertake a new series of tests, the results of which are still unsatisfactory.
The environmentalist group Greenpeace lashed out at VW’s piecemeal communication of the scandal, especially after new CEO Mueller promised a “ruthless” investigation into the affair and a “fresh start”.
The cancellation was confirmed Monday – when German prosecutors said they were investigating Winterkorn over VW’s emissions-rigging scandal – by the Hungarian subsidiary of Audi, majority-owned by Volkswagen.
5) It’s not clear yet how Volkswagen plans to alter the cars so they comply with regulations.
The key detail, though, is that apparently at no time did the ICCT find that BMW cheated on any emissions tests.
When he resigned last week, Winterkorn apologized for the company’s misconduct but maintained he had no knowledge of the emissions-duping technology. He vows that VW will “cooperate fully” with the authorities and “will do everything to re-establish” that trust. But analysts at DZ Bank suggested it could be 1.0-3.0 billion euros more. The German government orders immediate “specific and extensive” tests on the vehicles concerned.
An emission cheating scandal at Germany’s Volkswagen manufacturer became an ethical and political catastrophe for the company, Berthold Huber, the acting chairman of the of the company’s supervisory board, said Friday. During that meeting, Winterkorn tendered his resignation, which was accepted.
Investigators will nearly certainly look for any false statements made to the EPA and for signs that VW has tried to hide wrongdoing or obstruct regulators.
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Rating agency Fitch threatens to downgrade the carmaker’s credit worthiness.
