Caught up in a global emissions test cheating scandal, Volkswagen is making the first move to patch up relations with its USA customers by offering a $500 gift card and another $500 in credit to be used for service or products at a VW dealer. VW owners are angry at being asked to give up their cars to have them repaired, but more broadly there is widespread fury at the company for capitalizing on its image as safe and environmentally friendly in a market anxious about climate change.
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However, the regulator found that VW’s cars were fitted with so-called “defeat devices” – pieces of software which switched on emissions controls only when the engines were being tested – allowing them to meet the required standards. The diesels spew as much as 40 times the legal limit of nitrogen oxide in normal driving; the software hides those emissions when it detects test conditions.
“We are working tirelessly to develop an approved remedy for affected vehicles”, Volkswagen’s USA chief executive, Michael Horn, said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Germany’s Transport Ministry said that of the 2. Volkswagen is encouraging its rank and file staff to co-operate with its internal investigation by promising not to fire or sue them for any misconduct although high-level managers would still be held to account.
Last week, the EPA said that a few of VW’s 3.0L V6 diesels were equipped with the same illegal software, but Volkswagen has so far denied these cars are affected.
Irish motorists seemed undeterred by the scandal and bought more new VW cars than any other make last month. In particular, VW’s corporate governance was pinpointed as being weaker than that of its peers.
Whatever fix VW designs could wind up hurting performance or perhaps fuel mileage, the two main reasons why people buy diesels.
Michelle Krebs, a senior analyst at Autotrader, a research group, said she welcomed the goodwill offer and the company’s previous efforts to provide financial support for their dealers, but pointed out that there are still many unanswered questions.
VW’s ever-expanding diesel-emissions cheating scandal has put the global behemoth on its heels.
Volkswagen has declined to comment on Winterkorn’s management style and if it had anything to do with the cheating. The price of gas-powered Volkswagens dropped 2 percent in the same period.
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The package includes three items: a $500 prepaid Visa card, a $500 Volkswagen Dealership Card, and three-years worth of free roadside assistance.
