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The dieselgate scandal may have major repercussions for Volkswagen: it is not unthinkable the German car company will halt its diesel car production. On top of that, its board still faces legal problems.
Complaint for market manipulation
Yesterday, it was revealed that the German financial market supervisor, BaFin, filed an official complaint against Volkswagen’s entire board of directors present in September 2015. BaFin says the board manipulated the market, and it also feels there are plenty of indications Volkswagen failed to act quickly enough to report on the potential financial fallout of dieselgate.
Up until now, the consequences of the scandal were rather limited for Volkswagen. It paid a huge fee in the United States, but Volkswagen basically sidestepped any issue in Europe and only had to call back cars.
Possible end for Volkswagen
The company does however face a court case with shareholders demanding huge compensations for dieselgate. Should the board members be found guilty of market manipulation or any other complaint, the plaintiffs in this particular court case would see their own complaint gain traction. German paper Die Welt says this may actually spell the end for Volkswagen, the first time this train of thought has come to the surface.
In any case, Volkswagen seems to turn its attention away from diesel. CEO Matthias Müller says it is becoming increasingly expensive to develop diesel engines and to keep them clean. The company already halted its diesel car sales in the United States, a temporary measure for the time being, but one that may become a permanent decision in the end. Other European car manufacturers have also mentioned on several occasions that diesel may be running on its final fumes.
