Volkswagen cheating the EPA’s emission test might have sent shockwaves but
it didn’t surprise or shock me that a billion dollar corporation cheated on a
test for six years straight that would have cost them billions if they failed
it. It should be common knowledge that a company as large as Volkswagen sole
aim is to make returns on their significant investments and are liable to do
whatever it takes to avoid or eliminate anything that impedes their simple if
not narrow objective.
However, I grant you that if this was strictly true, Volkswagen executives
and engineers it might have calculated that it would have been cheaper for them
fail the emission test than cheat and deal with the mother of all nuclear
fallouts if they got caught. Since they admitted they cheated, the company has
lost a third of its value, drawn the ire of their customers, lost their CEO,
opened themselves to a wrath of potential legal cases and fines, and suffered reputational
damage that’s looking irreparable.
The thing that surprises me about the whole debacle is that Volkswagen knew
that they would fail the diesel emissions tests without cheating, knew what
would happen they got caught, were aware it might have been cheaper and whole
lot less stressful to fail the test but decided to cheat anyway.
However, what also concerns me is not that they were prepared to roll the
dice and pay the price to avoid failing the diesel emissions test, it’s the
fact that they knew that their cars are more harmful to the environment (not to
mention people) than they let on and were prepared to sell 11m polluting diesel
cars around the world just to make their numbers.
Volkswagen could face billions in fines and a criminal investigation in the
US alone, a wrath of lawsuits from VW customers across Europe (Europe
represents diesel’s biggest market) who fell hook, line, and sinker for the “clean
diesel” phenomenon, and even repercussions in Germany as according to Alexander
Dobrindt, Germany’s Transport Minister, “ the
carmaker had manipulated test results for about 2.8 million vehicles in the
country”[1]. The company
said that it will set aside $7.3 billion for fines and but with scale of the
scandal expanding at every turn, it look like they’re going to need more than
that to say the least.
In sum, Volkswagen
will have hell to pay as VW’s emissions test scandal is only getting started as
it’s quite clear that they aren’t the only carmakers trying to deceive regulators
and customers.
[1]
A. Cremer, 2015, Volkswagen Picks company veteran to tackle emissions crisis, http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/09/25/uk-usa-volkswagen-idUKKCN0RM08920150925
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