Volkswagen to Recall 11 Million Vehicles for Refitting in the next Few days Following Emission Scandal


09/29/2015



Within the next few days Volkswagen is planning to recall around 11 million cars in response to the emission scandal that rocked the company and the auto world recently
 
News agency Reuters reports that a comprehensive plan has been drawn up to ensure vehicles fitted with a defeat device meet emissions standards by Volkswagen and this was conveyed to the company’s top 1,000 managers in a meeting on Monday night by Matthias Müller, the new chief executive of VW. 
 
He informed that the customers will be contacted in the next few days about having their vehicles refitted after the new plan is submitted to the regulators.
 
“it was “facing the severest test in its history a long trudge and a lot of hard work,” Müller reportedly told leading staff at the company’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, reports Reuters.

Analysts and experts have predicted that this exercise would cost the company more than $6.5 billion.
With company shares down by more than 30% in just over a few days since Volkswagen was charged in the US of having cheated the emission tests by installing special software in its diesel cars, the company faces an uphill task of not only recovering the financial losses but also regaining lost face.
 
11 million vehicles worldwide that was fitted with defeat devices were to be recalled, the company admitted. 2.1million Audis, 1.2 million Skodas, 700,000 Seats, and 1.8 million light commercial vehicles in addition to 5 million Volkswagen-branded cars are affected, the company said.
 
Along from facing one of the largest legal claims in the history from customers and from and shareholders around the world, the company faces fines of up to $18 billion (£11.9 billion) even as the share prices fell drastically ever since the scandal broke.
 
The former boss of the largest car making company in the world, Martin Winterkorn, is also in trouble as he German prosecutors have opened an investigation upon him over the scandal.
 
The actual expanse of the problem for the company is yet to unfold as investigations are on about its Europe operations. Germany's transport minister has said that the biggest car maker in Europe has also manipulated the emission tests in Europe, where Volkswagen sells about 40 percent of its vehicles.
While the scandal has been the worst that had hit the 78 year old car company, the potential of the scandal is such that analysts believe that the German economy could also be hurt by it.

However the company did not disclose how the refitting would help the customers comply with the emission regulations or how this might affect vehicles' mileage or efficiency. These details would probably be submitted to Germany's KBA watchdog next month.

In an effort to send the message that the company was quick to react in wake of the emission crisis and the face loss  worldwide, Volkswagen had removed Martin Winterkorn. As the CEO and appointed Mueller in his place on Friday. 

 (Source:www.reuters.com & www.theguardian.com)