The
irony cannot be missed that despite the fact Volkswagen (VW) translates to
‘people’s car’ in the German language, it has proved to be anything but that.
The discovery of a ‘defeat device’ created by the VW company in their vehicles
in order to falsify the pollution level emitted, has cost them not only the
trust of the public, but possibly, even the German reputation.
According
to a feature in Khaleej Times, there were tests conducted by the West VirginiaUniversity (WVU) to check the level of emissions from Volkswagen. In doing so,
they discovered a significantly higher level than the US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) approved standards.
Why
would the world’s most successful car-manufacturer want to indulge in such a
risky and environmentally harmful scheme? Perhaps they wanted to save money and
manpower on required additional equipment. However, none of that is worth it if
it means letting down their customers and altering their perception by
misleading them.
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| The logo of automobile brand, Volkswagen. Source: moshlab.com |
More
importantly, and maybe even worse, is the added impact that the scandal would
have had on the health of millions and the environment. Exhaust fumes from
vehicles contain high levels of nitrogen oxide, which not only causes
respiratory problems but affects the atmosphere as well. Clearly, the German
company did not stop to think about the long-term consequences and rather, created
a cheap alternative just for the sake of passing the emission detection tests
that were conducted.
The
fact that they let this affect around 11 million cars around the world, shows
that they did not consider how bad this would be for the country’s reputation
either. Even though Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, stated that the
scandal would not leave a lasting damage, experts believe otherwise.
“We are
beginning to treat VW as a macro story – damages and economic impact likely to
be very large,” tweeted Wolfgang Munchau, president of Euro Intelligence.
“Because
of Volkswagen’s central role in German automobile industry, the scandal is a
devastating blow to the country’s global image,” wrote David Bach in his article
for The Financial Times, having further added that it will be hard for the
German industry to move away from this scandal very quickly.
It
might be even more difficult to do so, seeing as the new CEO taken on board is Mattias
Müller who
was formerly the CEO of Porsche. It is doubtful that company made the right
choice here; promoting an insider of the very same company accused of fraud,
rather than hiring someone from the outer circle.
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| Volkswagen's new CEO Mattias Muller attends press conference following scandal. Source: www.cbc.ca |
By Revathy Rajan
The writer is a final year Media & Communication student specialising in Journalism.
The writer is a final year Media & Communication student specializing in Journalism.
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