10 Volkswagen Scandal Facts WMNews Ep. 47
Volkswagen had a reputation as one of the most reliable car manufacturers on the planet, but in September 2015 that reputation was shattered. Welcome to WatchMojo News, the weekly series from http://www.WatchMojo.com where we break down news stories that might be on your radar. In this installment, we're counting down 10 crucial facts you should know about the Volkswagen Scandal.
#10: What Did Volkswagen Do? The Scandal
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The modern automobile industry is subject to extensive emissions testing, with an increasing necessity to inflict as little damage onto the environment as possible. However, it’s been revealed that between the years 2008 and 2015, leading German manufacturer, Volkswagen, has been cheating on US air pollution tests, by purposefully altering car performance during testing, and providing falsely favorable results. VW emissions consistently met with standards during official test conditions, but for everyday road use, their output has been measured at 10 to 40 times the legal amount.
#9: What Was Volkswagen’s Motivation? The Fraud
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The scandal mostly centers on VW’s diesel range, which had previously been extensively advertised as ‘clean’. Diesel, which the company’s 2015 ad campaigns claim is reputedly a ‘dirty word’, has historically proven difficult to convert based on modern day environmental standards. Experts say that pollution-defying, cleaning technology may have adverse effects on the car’s performance, speed, and fuel efficiency. A negative impact that manufacturers are looking to avoid, it seems that VW got around the potential problems by being dishonest.
#8: How Did Volkswagen Do This? The Defeat Device
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The deception was achieved by the company’s installation of ‘defeat device software’ in over 10 million cars worldwide. It isn’t a physical piece of equipment identifiable under the hood, but equates to extra lines of software, incorporated into the vehicle’s pre-existing computer controls. The extra technology enables a car to identify when it’s being put under laboratory test conditions, based on “the position of the steering wheel, vehicle speed, the duration of the engine’s operation, and barometric pressure” – according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Once test conditions have been identified, the car alters its performance so that emissions are lower than they otherwise would be.
#7: How Did Volkswagen Get Caught? The Reveal
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Volkswagen was initially exposed in 2013, following independent testing carried out by the International Council on Clean Transportation. The ICCT had originally been testing to prove VW as a leading example of how diesel could be a clean fuel. Representative John German later said, ‘we had no cause for suspicion… We thought the vehicles would be clean’. Lab and road tests were carried out on a BMW X5 SUV, a 2012 VW Jetta and a 2013 VW Passat (at, not awt). The BMW passed both, but the VWs failed the road tests significantly, with the Passat exceeding nitrous oxide caps by up to 20 times, and the Jetta up to 35 times. The matter was then passed over to the California Air Resources Board and the Environmental Protection Agency, who scrutinized further until eventually the truth was unearthed in 2015.
#6: Why Are People So Outraged? The Risks
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These developments have no implications in terms of VW safety. However, VW drivers, and the international community in general, have been left reeling from this blatant display of deception. Some estimates say that up to one million extra tons of air pollution has been slyly channeled into the atmosphere by VW, while further investigations have gradually discovered previously ‘hidden’ air pollutants present in and around major cities. Many critics have suggested that VW values company profit over its impact on the international environment, not to mention customer health and wellbeing. Rather than accept climate change and adapt to it, they’ve sought new, until now unidentifiable ways of getting around it.
#5: How Did Volkswagen Respond? The Reaction
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VW finally admitted to the defeat device scheme in early September 2015, after extensive pressure from the EPA. The scandal, which has been criticized as “illegal and a threat to public health”, was then made public on September 18th, 2015, prompting a massive reshuffle within VW itself. CEO Martin Winterkorn (vinterkorn) initially issued an apology, but eventually resigned from his position, saying “I am clearing the way for [a] fresh start with my resignation.” And that fresh start is likely to suffer severe financial strain. On September 21st, 2015, VW stock plunged more than 20%, and it was estimated then that the scandal could cost the company nearly $20 billion. Incoming CEO, Matthias Mueller (mawt-TEE-awss), however, promised to ‘leave no stone unturned’ in rebuilding the company into one that maintains ‘maximum transparency’.
#4: How Does This Affect Volkswagen Owners? The Aftermath
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The initial expectation was that affected cars would be recalled, in order to update software and remove the defeat device. The owners that were most likely to be directly affected were those whose cars were equipped with the EA189, 2.0 liter TDI engine. However, as of the end of September 2015, it was still not determined whether or not there would be a worldwide recall. At that point in time, it had not yet been confirmed that any vehicle had duped EU standards, and so the situation in Europe remained largely unchanged. That being said, on September 25th, 2015, Switzerland had temporarily banned the sale of Volkswagen diesel-engine models. If and when a vehicle is recalled, however, there could be grounds for a compensation claim, should the car depreciate in price and/or performance as a result of the changes.
#3: How Many Cars and Which Models Will This Affect? The Effects
As of the end of September 2015, around 500,000 vehicles were affected in the US, and around 11 million worldwide. In terms of specific models, the VW Jetta, Passat, Beetle and Golf could all carry the defeat device software if built in, or after, 2008. The Audi A3 is also implicated, as Audi is a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. Some commentators warned that the scandal could signal a snowball effect throughout VW in general, however, and go on to affect car manufacturers that are linked to them as well.
#2: What Kind of Changes Are Going to Be Made? The Changes
As of the end of September 2015, it was unlikely that the deceptive VW engines would be easily fixed. Not only would it require a massive logistical effort to recall and reshape the software, the company would have had to develop an engine that is actually compatible with environmental standards. The Consumer Reports’ director of automotive testing, Jake Fisher, summarized the VW problem: “Building an engine involves balancing four factors — performance, emissions, durability, and fuel economy,” he explained. VW has sacrificed the emissions part of that balance, in order to deliver a high-spec engine in terms of the other three factors. For Fisher, “whatever the fix is, it will likely sacrifice fuel economy and probably durability as well,’ meaning that the previously first-class VW performance could now falter beneath its rivals.
#1: Will Volkswagen Recover? The Future
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Economically, experts predicted at the end of September 2015 that the VW long game would not suffer too badly due to the clean diesel scandal. The company has in place an admirable financial structure that should be able to weather any initial fines and costs, even if they do escalate into the tens of billions of dollars. However, marketing strategists and product engineers in general surely had their work cut out to restore consumer faith. Not only did the cars themselves have to be redeveloped in order to deliver the same high standard of performance without skimping on environmental standards, but the general public also had to be made to believe in the brand once again. VW has long prided itself as a class above its competitors, but with these failed tests it has fallen way down in the eyes of the public. Did these facts get you thinking? To vote for which news story is covered next head over to WatchMojo.com/suggest, and be sure to hit that subscribe button for more newsworthy top tens published every week!
