Volkswagen is dealing with the fallout of a global scandal after it was revealed that the company installed software on some of its vehicles to cheat on emissions tests.
In the wake of its emissions scandal, Volkswagen hires Ken Feinberg, who ran compensation funds related to the 9/11 attacks, BP oil spill and GM's ignition-switch crashes.
The German automaker admitted in September that it had rigged emissions tests by equipping diesel vehicles with a cheating software.
U.S. automobile brands in Europe registered strong gains in November as Volkswagen continued to suffer due to subdued demand after the diesel emissions scandal.
In China, an environmental group filed a lawsuit against the German carmaker while in India, an official body is considering a plea to ban its vehicles.
Volkswagen has agreed on steps to improve oversight of engine-software development to avoid future manipulations after its admission of cheating U.S. diesel-emissions tests caused the biggest scandal in the German carmaker's corporate history. Correspondent Grace Pascoe reports.
Volkswagen's chairman said the scandal-tainted automaker will improve oversight of its engine-software department and revamp its corporate structure.
Volkswagen's chairman said Thursday that defending the company’s market position in the wake of the emissions scandal will be difficult.
Volkswagen had initially estimated that as many as 800,000 vehicles, mostly in Europe, emit harmful gases at levels higher than previously known.
The German automaker also registered a 25 percent decline in sales in the U.S. for November after it pulled out its diesel cars from the market there.
The automaker's owners are set to address company workers Wednesday at its factory in Wolfsburg, Germany.
The German automaker is awaiting approval from regulators on a series of low-cost fixes for about 8.5 million diesel vehicles in Europe.
Analysts have said that the cost of fines, lawsuits and vehicle refits caused by Volkswagen's rigging of diesel emissions tests worldwide could top $42 billion.
Volkswagen revealed in November that it had understated the level of carbon dioxide emissions and fuel usage in around 800,000 cars.
"Employment is safe provided we are selling cars," Bernd Osterloh says. "If we sell no cars, it will get relatively difficult."
South Korea is now the only country other than the U.S. to impose a fine against Volkswagen after finding its vehicles cheated on emissions tests.
Nitrogen oxide emissions of Renault's 1.6 dCi Espace were found in tests to be up to 25 times higher than the current Euro-6 limit, according to a German environmental lobby group.
A criminal inquiry into Volkswagen has been expanded to include tax evasion suspicions, according to reports.
Matthias Müller also said during a speech Monday that the inquiry into the emissions scandal may take several months.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitunghad reported earlier that an unnamed dealer said Volkswagen business was "dead as a doornail."
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday said VW used software that reported false emissions data in all vehicles with 3-liter diesel engines from 2009 to 2016.
Meanwhile, the head of Audi of America said that the emissions scandal had not diminished sales of its vehicles in the United States.