Photo: Autotestmagazin.ro
BMW CEO, Mr. Harald Krueger, said in a recent interview that his company’s diesel sales were not affected by the recent dieselgate scandal started by Volkswagen. The statement came after his company’s stock value dropped more than 5 percent after malicious rumors claimed that their diesel engines were also cheating in tests.
The whole thing was retracted upon thorough checks, but the damage had been done. During the interview with Die Zeit, the manager wasn’t shy about addressing this issue, stating once again that the cars built by the Munich-based company abide by the current regulations.
The problem isn’t on the testing banks but in the way these tests are being carried out, according to him. The main issue is that you are testing the cars in a closed enclosure that has nothing to do with real-life situations and that’s how the big discrepancies show up.
Furthermore, the disappearance of diesel models from the range would be inconceivable at this point. That’s because 80 percent of the BMWs sold in Europe (their biggest market) use the high cetane fuel. In Germany, the ratio goes down to 73 percent but it’s still an incredibly high margin compared to gasoline versions.
Stopping the sale of these cars could be enforced but then the customers would have to buy electric or plug-in models and the infrastructure just isn’t ready for such a huge leap at the moment.
“I am a big fan of electromobility. But for the next few years, we won’t be able to do without diesel, especially when it comes to meeting CO2 targets. Alternative drive forms, such as electromobility or hydrogen are not yet able to fulfill all the applications of the modern diesel engine,” said Mr. Krueger.
“For me, honesty, openness, transparency, and trust are fundamental values that cannot contradict themselves. It must be possible to speak openly about conflicts and escalate regardless of the hierarchical level. If a cost target could not be achieved, the employees should have the heart and courage to say: We can not meet the goal set under the given conditions!” the 50-year old manager stated, possibly adding an explanation to why the CEOs claimed they had no idea what was happening under the roof of the companies they ran.
The problem isn’t on the testing banks but in the way these tests are being carried out, according to him. The main issue is that you are testing the cars in a closed enclosure that has nothing to do with real-life situations and that’s how the big discrepancies show up.
Furthermore, the disappearance of diesel models from the range would be inconceivable at this point. That’s because 80 percent of the BMWs sold in Europe (their biggest market) use the high cetane fuel. In Germany, the ratio goes down to 73 percent but it’s still an incredibly high margin compared to gasoline versions.
Stopping the sale of these cars could be enforced but then the customers would have to buy electric or plug-in models and the infrastructure just isn’t ready for such a huge leap at the moment.
“I am a big fan of electromobility. But for the next few years, we won’t be able to do without diesel, especially when it comes to meeting CO2 targets. Alternative drive forms, such as electromobility or hydrogen are not yet able to fulfill all the applications of the modern diesel engine,” said Mr. Krueger.
Lack of trust led to the dieselgate scandal
Speaking even more about the scandal taking place in Wolfsburg these days, the BMW CEO wasn’t afraid to share his insights on the matter. According to him, it was the lack of trust that led to these unfortunate incidents and improper communication between different ranks in the company.“For me, honesty, openness, transparency, and trust are fundamental values that cannot contradict themselves. It must be possible to speak openly about conflicts and escalate regardless of the hierarchical level. If a cost target could not be achieved, the employees should have the heart and courage to say: We can not meet the goal set under the given conditions!” the 50-year old manager stated, possibly adding an explanation to why the CEOs claimed they had no idea what was happening under the roof of the companies they ran.
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