October 6, 2015
The aftershocks of the scandal at Volkswagen continue to reverberate, which is why Auto Publishers is here to provide you with the latest with everyone’s favorite emissions test cheating German automaker: Paying the Piper It doesn’t take a genius to conclude that Volkswagen will pay a hefty price for its diesel-emissions cheating and that expenditures will be slashed almost as severely as the photo of the Volkswagen Golf accompanying this article. For starters, the company will have to pay to repair the deficient diesel models, as mentioned earlier, along with the inevitable fines and lawsuits. And as the company seeks to dig itself out from the deserved bad PR it’s been saddled with, sales of all VW vehicles will inevitably decline. With all that in mind, the period of austerity presaged by new VW CEO Matthias Mueller can hardly be considered surprising. “We will review all planned investments, and what isn’t absolutely vital will be canceled or delayed,” Mueller wrote in an email to VW employees. “And that’s why we will re-adjust our efficiency program. I will be completely clear: this won’t be painless.” Volkswagen will need all the financial resources it can muster to clean up the emissions mess it’s made for itself, which is why it has elected to suspend non-essential projects and (even though Mueller didn’t mention it) non-essential employees. Despite the CEO’s insistence to employees that “we will overcome the crisis,” it’ll be a Herculean task to lift staff morale from the depths it’s currently in, and will likely be in for some time. VW Investigates Options Millions of Volkswagen diesel vehicle owners have anxiously awaited an announcement about how and when the company will fix the 11 million models that cheated on emissions tests. The early speculation from auto experts was that the company might install software that could, for certain models, result in “diminished fuel economy and performance or require more maintenance.” That option, while onerous, hasn’t been completely ruled out; according to Bloomberg, Volkswagen is said to be weighing a wide range of solutions from installing catalytic converters to contain nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions to recalling and replacing all of the affected vehicles. Depending on what road Volkswagen ultimately elects to take—or is forced to take by investigators and legislators—fixing the 11 million VW vehicles may cost the company something between 20 euros (or the equivalent of $22) to 10,000 euros (or the equivalent of $11,262) per vehicle. Volkswagen’s board of directors has an October 7 deadline to come to a decision—to say that tomorrow will be a pivotal day in the company’s history would be an understatement. The Harder They Fall, The Cheaper They Come If there’s a silver lining for customers, the black cloud hanging over Volkswagen has made its vehicles cheaper. The German automaker will reportedly issue $2,000 loyalty incentives to VW customers toward the purchase or lease of a new VW vehicle. Customers can combine this incentive with any other VW offer with the exception of dealer employee participation or fleet programs. In addition, the company will continue its September dealer incentives for Passat midsize sedans, Jetta compacts, Touareg crossovers, CC sedans and Eos convertibles. Customers looking to take advantage of Volkswagen’s purchasing and leasing incentives can rely on Auto Publishers to help them find new Volkswagen vehicles in their area. For more information on a 2015 or 2016 VW model, contact your local auto dealer today! Image Credit: Modified Planet