The Volkswagen Group is streamlining its internal structures. CEO Matthias Müller has almost halved the number of direct reports he receives and new appointments to several posts will take effect in the first quarter of 2016.
While November saw a rise in car sales, SMMT figures show that it was far from a good month for the VW Group in the UK: Volkswagen sales in Britain tumbled in November with new car registrations of VW-branded models falling 20 per cent year-on-year in the wake of the diesel emissions rigging scandal.
The BBC has claimed that VW deliberately cheated emissions tests in Europe, in addition to the US emissions scandal it has admitted to. In addition the BBC’s Panorama programme also questioned the emissions behaviour of an Opel Zafira, which appeared to emit more NOx in both hot and cold engine conditions than European legislation allows.
The Volkswagen Group has reported third quarter 2015 pre-tax losses of 2.522 billion euros as a result of the emissions scandal the firm is embroiled in. The losses are attributed to 10.2 billion euros of special charges in the first nine months of the year. In addition market observers are concerned about the firm’s continued corporate policy.
Following Klarius’ take on the Volkswagen emissions scandal, UK parts distributor Euro Car Parts has asked other experts in emissions-related repairs what they make of the VW ‘defeat device’ scandal affecting Audi, Seat, Skoda, VW and VW Commercial vehicles. Tony Wilson, managing director of Klarius, said that the “upside for the aftermarket” is the wider […]
Klarius, the manufacturer of aftermarket emissions products including exhausts, CATs and Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs) has confirmed that fitting aftermarket systems will not affect the efficiency or emissions of VW vehicles in the wake of what has been called the ‘diesel dupe’ scandal where an emissions test software ‘cheat’ was allegedly fitted to over 11million VW Group vehicles in order to meet strict US NOx test regulations.
Trade values of Volkswagen vehicles have fallen 3 per cent following news of the emissions scandal, according to figures from Glass’s. The figures may be marginal when considered in detail, but they go against the flow of the market.
Trade values of all Volkswagen used cars in the Glass’s database are currently the same as they were at the beginning of September. However, the overall used car market has seen an increase of 2.1 per cent during the same period – meaning that the value of the VWs have effectively fallen by 2.1 per cent.
TerraClean has become the first aftermarket firm, perhaps even the first company to publically welcome the UK government’s plans to invest vehicle emissions in light of the VW scandal.
In mid-September the emissions hit the fan for VW. What began with an admission that half a million Golfs and Beetles were not showing the right emissions values in lab tests, quickly became a global scandal involving 11 million vehicles, disastrously affecting the group’s share price, resulting in the ‘restructuring’ of the firm’s global leadership and worst of all affecting confidence in both VW and the wider automotive and automotive testing industries.
Following VW CEO Dr Martin Winterkorn’s decision to jump before he was pushed on 24 September, no-one was surprised when VW announced that there had been a number of changes in its global leadership.
First off Porsche chairman Matthias Müller was appointed as CEO of Volkswagen AG with immediate effect on Friday 26 September. Müller remains chairman of Porsche AG in Stuttgart until a successor has been found.
The Department for Transport (DfT) announced yesterday that the British government will set up its own inquiry into car emissions and testing. This will be done through the UK regulator Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA), which is itself a division of the Department for Transport, and will work with OEMs.
In the wake of the VW scandal, UK Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin is said to be pushing for European level action on car emissions tests. According to BBC News, he said: “We are closely monitoring the situation and have been pushing for action at a European level for more accurate tests that reflect driving on the road. It’s vital that the public has confidence in vehicle emissions tests and I am calling for the European Commission to investigate this issue as a matter of urgency.”
News that VW is recalling almost half a million diesel cars in the US is bad enough, but the revelation that this is because the company put so-called defeat devices into the cars in order to mislead emissions testing systems is likely to damage the OEM’s reputation. And there is a growing financial cost too.
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