Scandal-hit Volkswagen to cut investments by 1 bn euros: CEO

Volkswagen said Friday it will trim spending on factories and equipment to 12 billion euros ($12.8 billion) next year, down from 12.9 billion euros under the previous budget and in line with cuts it had already announced.

Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller says the company’s board has made a decision to reduce capital expenditures by 1 billion euros ($1.07 billion) in 2016 as it deals with the fallout of its emissions-rigging scandal.

The German automaker will cut investments by one billion euros ($1.1 billion), or about 8%, to 12 billion euros.

Volkswagen AG has told USA regulators that emissions issues in larger luxury cars and SUVs extend to an additional 75,000 vehicles dating back to 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday.

In case you were wondering when the supplier who provided Volkswagen’s cheat-ridden engine management software would come under fire, Reuters reports that United States federal prosecutors are investigating supplier Robert Bosch GmbH’s role in the dieselgate scandal. This is down from its average of 13 billion euros per year.

In previous years, the company has published investment plans for several years ahead. Volkswagen in particular asked for their systems to turn off the emission control system when the cars were being tested in a lab, but not when the cars were used on the road.

On Thursday it was announced Volkswagen is being pressurized by the certain USA officials.

“What we definitely won’t do is make cuts at the expense of our future”, Mueller said in a press conference at the company’s Wolfsburg, Germany headquarters.

The successor to the high-end Phaeton sedan, which will be an electric model only, is being delayed.

The German auto maker conceded earlier this month that it understated fuel consumption and emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, for about 800,000 vehicles, in addition to having evaded nitrogen oxides emissions standards with millions of cars.

“We will strictly prioritise all planned investments… anything that is not absolutely necessary will be cancelled or postponed”.

Wednesday sale stoppage went far beyond these models to include any 2013-2016 model-year Volkswagen and Audi vehicles with 3.0-liter diesel engines alongside the Porsche SUVs.