Emissions scandal: Millions of VW cars could be recalled

Over the weekend, Winterkorn said in a statement that, “I personally am deeply sorry that we have broken the trust of our customers and the public”.

The reputational damage to Volkswagen is implicit in the market’s response.

There are some eye-popping numbers already associated with the Volkswagen scandal. BMW is down 6.18% and Daimler is down 6.39%. France’s Renault SA was 5.5 percent lower.

The scandal is hugely damaging to a business that relies heavily on a hard-won reputation for quality and trustworthiness.

If buyers lose trust in the brands, then there is inevitably less demand and values suffer’.

Eleven million cars around the world have been fitted with the switch.

After blaming unrelated issues for more than a year, the company finally told US regulators on September 3 that it installed software that switches engines to a cleaner mode during official emissions testing.

Volkswagen shares took a plunge on Monday following the U.S. emissions allegations saga.

Volkswagen, the largest auto maker in the world, is accused by regulators of using illegal “defeat device” software that causes 482,000 of its diesel cars in the U.S.to cheat on emissions standards tests.

The latest developments in the scandal enveloping Volkswagen over the company’s admission that it rigged emissions tests for diesel-powered cars.

Volkswagen said it is “working intensely” to solve the problem and that it “does not tolerate any kind of violation of laws whatsoever”.

The statement didn’t mention possible fines or penalties.

“Our company was dishonest with the EPA, and the California Air Resources Board and with all of you”, Michael Horn, the head of the VW brand in the U.S. , said Monday in Brooklyn, New York, where he was revealing a redesigned version of the Passat sedan.

Loughran said. “And, I’m thinking Tesla”.

To address the growing crisis, the executive committee of the carmaker’s supervisory board will meet Wednesday, said people familiar with the matter. It gave no information on its content. The amounts estimated may be subject to revaluation due to the ongoing investigations. It didn’t specify by how much. For the majority of these engines the software does not have any effect.

It also said new vehicles with EU 6 diesel engines now on sale in the European Union comply with legal requirements and environmental standards.

“It has to be done at a European level”, he told Europe 1 radio in an interview.

“Even if it’s just to reassure people, it seems necessary to me that (checks should be carried out) also on French carmakers”, he said, adding he had no “particular reason” to suspect wrongdoing.

“I hope that the facts will be put on the table as quickly as possible”, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Berlin.

Martin Winterkorn is facing intense scrutiny amid the VW emissions scandal. He was looking forward to getting a two-year contract extension, keeping him in charge through 2018, at the company’s regular board meeting Friday.

It is not clear how many vehicles are affected in each country, but a transport campaign group has warned millions of cars in the United Kingdom could be recalled – from VW and other manufacturers.