- Title: Volkswagen unveils new product line amid ongoing emissions scandal
- Date: 9th January 2017
- Summary: ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF VW CONCEPT VEHICLE THE ID BUZZ WIDE OF HINRICH WOEBCKEN, CEO OF VOLKSWAGEN NORTH AMERICA SPEAKING TO AUDIENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) HINRICH WOEBCKEN, CEO OF VOLKSWAGEN NORTH AMERICA SAYING: "So for a year full of challenges, we are encouraged by where we ended up in terms of sales. With this this quick glimpse of the past, we are defiantly very optimistic about our prospects in 2017. We believe that a number of important building blocks are in place to make this business more successful in the U.S. market. We are committed to this market and committed to growth." AUDIENCE LISTENING (SOUNDBITE (English) HINRICH WOEBCKEN, CEO OF VOLKSWAGEN NORTH AMERICA SAYING: "I can only tell you that we were also surprised yesterday by this news. We continue to work closely with the agencies and with the government and we cannot comment on any investigations which are going on in this regard." WOEBCKEN STANDING BESIDE ID BUZZ (SOUNDBITE) (English) HINRICH WOEBCKEN, CEO OF VOLKSWAGEN NORTH AMERICA SAYING: "The other big part of course, is getting the diesel buy back and fix process done well, so to speak in a typical German engineering way, we are going to very professionally, with a high customer satisfaction level processing this job so to also give us a big return of trust, I am hopeful." WOEBCKEN DEPARTING VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LOOKING AT NEW VW ID BUZZ VARIOUS OF NEW VW SUV CALLED THE ATLAS
- Embargoed: 24th January 2017 17:52
- Keywords: Volkswagen emissions VW North America CEO Hinrich Woebcken
- Location: DETROIT, MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES / FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES
- City: DETROIT, MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES / FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA0025YD1KQV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Volkswagen executives decided to cover up cheating of U.S. emissions tests when they were told about it almost two months before the matter became a public scandal in 2015, according to a court filing by U.S. law enforcers seen by Reuters.
Senior VW manager Oliver Schmidt, who was due to appear in court charged with defrauding the United States later on Monday (January 9), was one of those who informed executive management about the "existence, purpose and characteristics" of so-called defeat devices on or around July 27, 2015, according to the filing by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to a Michigan court.
In Detroit, the automaker was hoping to distance itself from the legal woes when it unveiled a new line of VW vehicles. VW unveiled the electric concept car I.D. Buzz, reminiscent of the VW bus of the 1960's as well as the Atlas, a large SUV that will be available later this year.
Hinrich Woebcken, the CEO of Volkswagen North America told reporters at the North American Auto Show the brand was bouncing back from a tough year.
"So for a year full of challenges, we are encouraged by where we ended up in terms of sales. With this this quick glimpse of the past, we are defiantly very optimistic about our prospects in 2017. We believe that a number of important building blocks are in place to make this business more successful in the U.S. market. We are committed to this market and committed to growth."
He said he was surprised by the weekend arrest of Schmidt, adding VW was cooperating with officials.
Schmidt's arrest and court appearance come as VW nears a $3 billion-plus settlement with the U.S. Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency, which could be announced as soon as Wednesday.
But the allegations in the FBI filing show how difficult it is proving for VW to draw a line under the biggest business scandal in its 80-year history almost 16 months after it broke.
VW admitted in September 2015 to installing secret "defeat device" software in hundreds of thousands of U.S. diesel cars to cheat exhaust emissions tests and make them appear cleaner than they were on the road, and that up to around 11 million vehicles could have similar software installed worldwide.
The ensuing scandal has cost the company more than 18 billion euros ($18.9 billion) in provisions, led to the ousting of its longtime CEO Martin Winterkorn and forced it to drop its diesel offensive in the United States. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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