Photo: Volkswagen
The Dieselgate scandal just took a turn for the dramatic, as German media reports three prosecutors and around fifty state criminal investigators raided VW's headquarters in Wolfsburg.
Their targets were documents, and digital media needed to conduct their criminal investigation into so-called "defeat devices" that were used to artificially lower emissions of diesel engines.
When we say this story is dramatic, we're not exaggerating in any way, as Bloomberg's first words were "police and prosecutors swooped in on Volkswagen AG facilities." Sounds like the city of wolves is being raided by American bald eagles.
At the moment, the media isn't being told which employees had their homes raided. However, the operation started in the early morning and lasted several hours.
“We will fully support the prosecutor’s office with its investigation into the facts of the case and into the people responsible to swiftly and completely get to the bottom of the matter,” Volkswagen said in an e-mailed statement.
Europe's biggest car company is facing huge problems and dragged all its major sub-brands down with it. In the entire 78-year history of the Volkswagen brand, there's never been something of this magnitude. Stocks have fallen due to uncertainty surrounding the cost of repairs and fines. Dieselgate also cost former CEO Martin Winterkorn his job, and there might be worse to come.
VW USA's chief, Michael Horn, is speaking before US lawmakers today. Already, he has admitted the defeat device problem was known since spring 2014.
"In the spring of 2014 I was told that there was a possible emissions non-compliance that could be remedied," Horn said in a statement published by the a US House of Representatives.
Despite this, it could take a while to find the fix, as we are talking about four different brands and at least two-dozen different models.
Volkswagen recently told German reporters that the EA189 1.6-liter engine might take until September 2016 to be fixed, despite being one of the most common diesel powertrains in all of Europe.
When we say this story is dramatic, we're not exaggerating in any way, as Bloomberg's first words were "police and prosecutors swooped in on Volkswagen AG facilities." Sounds like the city of wolves is being raided by American bald eagles.
At the moment, the media isn't being told which employees had their homes raided. However, the operation started in the early morning and lasted several hours.
“We will fully support the prosecutor’s office with its investigation into the facts of the case and into the people responsible to swiftly and completely get to the bottom of the matter,” Volkswagen said in an e-mailed statement.
Europe's biggest car company is facing huge problems and dragged all its major sub-brands down with it. In the entire 78-year history of the Volkswagen brand, there's never been something of this magnitude. Stocks have fallen due to uncertainty surrounding the cost of repairs and fines. Dieselgate also cost former CEO Martin Winterkorn his job, and there might be worse to come.
VW USA's chief, Michael Horn, is speaking before US lawmakers today. Already, he has admitted the defeat device problem was known since spring 2014.
"In the spring of 2014 I was told that there was a possible emissions non-compliance that could be remedied," Horn said in a statement published by the a US House of Representatives.
Despite this, it could take a while to find the fix, as we are talking about four different brands and at least two-dozen different models.
Volkswagen recently told German reporters that the EA189 1.6-liter engine might take until September 2016 to be fixed, despite being one of the most common diesel powertrains in all of Europe.
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