VW Crisis May Be Growing With Solution On The Way

Last week, we brought you the story of a VW dealer thriving during the Volkswagen crisis – today we look at how much the VW diesel emissions has expanded.

Volkswagen has confirmed 85,000 more vehicles impacted by the diesel emissions crisis. The original number of vehicles equipped with the so-called “defeat-device” was 482,000. All of those vehicles were 2.0-liter diesel vehicles from VW and Audi. The latest 85,000 represent every 3.0-liter diesel vehicle made by Volkswagen and Audi since 2009.

On the subject of the seemingly expanding VW emissions crisis KBB senior analyst Karl Brauer told Bloomberg, “The most unfortunate aspect of this news, in addition to the environmental harm, is that it slows VW’s ability to move beyond the negative headlines and start the rebuilding process. You can’t recover from a scandal while it’s still growing.”

Another part of the VW crisis that makes it appear to be expanding is the investigation by German prosecutors into potential tax issues for the automaker. The concern on the part of German authorities is whether or not Volkswagen paid its fair share of taxes as tax rates in Germany are tied to some extent to vehicle CO2 output. According to Automotive News, the investigation is centered on both tax evasion and fraud.

However, despite the potential expansion of the crisis, VW is working on a solution. Bloomberg reported Monday Volkswagen AG is close to approval for a software fix that would repair the diesel emission software in 70 percent of impacted vehicles. VW is reportedly closer to approval for software fixes in Europe than the U.S. However, the one analyst doesn’t think it will be an easy road. As reported by Bloomberg, Stuart Pearson, analyst with Exane BNP Paribas told investors Monday, “VW is far from out of the woods yet. A technical fix for the U.S. is yet to be agreed with regulators, and VW may yet need to buy back a portion of the U.S. vehicles.”

Do you think Volkswagen will be able to repair all impacted vehicles in the U.S. by means of a software update? What more can VW do to rebuild its brand reputation? Do you think VW will have to buy back some of their vehicles in the U.S.?