Volkswagen has acknowledged that it cheated on diesel vehicle emissions tests in the United States, prompting several countries to check whether VW cars sold in their markets also used software that deceived regulators measuring emissions. CARB and the EPA gave Volkswagen a chance to rectify on-road emissions issues past year by way of a voluntary recall, but the fix did not bring NOx emissions down to an acceptable level.
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A spokeswoman for the European Automobile Manufacturing Association said the organization is asking for clarification on new testing standards based on everyday driving conditions so its members can enforce them accordingly on their cars.
In a statement, the German company said it was setting aside around 6.5 billion euros ($7.3 billion) to cover the fallout from the scandal that is tarnishing VW’s reputation for probity and seriously undermining its share price.
The announcement made by South Korea’s environment ministry said the probe would also include Audi diesel cars and it could be expanded to all German diesel cars if authorities found problems.
As a result, Volkswagen’s stocks have plummeted more than 36 per cent, and other auto companies are feeling the heat as well; BMW’s stock plummeted more than 10 per cent, while Daimler, owners of Mercedes-Benz, fell more than 12 per cent. “I am endlessly sorry that we have disappointed this trust”.
The cheating could see Volkswagen face US penalties of up to $18 billion.
“I am sure that there will be personnel consequences in the end, there is no question about it”, Lies said.
“Volkswagen Korean office says that South Korean models are different from the USA models but we’ll have to test”, Park said.
An official from Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration also told CNBC it was concerned about the scandal and would ask Volkswagen’s local plant for a report on its cars.
In addition to paying for the recall, VW faces fines that could add up to billions of dollars. They said the amount of money they set aside might change depending on how the ongoing investigations go. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for “complete transparency” during the investigation.
The Tagesspiegel newspaper, citing unidentified sources on Volkswagen’s supervisory board, said Winterkorn would be replaced by Matthias Mueller, the head of the carmaker’s Porsche sports vehicle business.
Before the scandal, Winterkorn, CEO since 2007, was hoping to have his stewardship of the company extended at a board meeting Friday.
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In Brussels, European Commission spokeswoman Lucia Caudet said that “we need to get to the bottom of this” and that the European Union executive body is in close contact with Volkswagen and USA authorities “to establish the facts”.
