The Volkswagen recall is about to begin. The German carmaker will start in January and the recall will cost several billion euros — figures that cast a shadow over the company's future.
Following the scandal that struck the German carmaker Volkswagen, new chief executive Matthias Müller – who took over from the outgoing Martin Winterkorn – has announced the date on which the largest car recall in the brand's history will begin. Müller, the former chief executive of Porsche, told the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that "if everything goes according to plan" the recall will begin in January and should be completed by the end of 2016.
The operation will involve eight million vehicles in Europe alone, and 9.5 million worldwide. For many, a straightforward fix will suffice; for others, a more complex intervention will be required. All work will of course be carried out free of charge, but it is expected to cost Volkswagen up to 77 billion euros. A figure that almost puts in the shade the 6.5 billion euros set aside to deal with the emergency and the more than 20 billion euros that went up in smoke following the collapse in the company's share price after the revelations by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
The scandal first broke in the United States, involving more than 480,000 diesel cars from the German group – which also includes the Audi and Porsche brands – fitted with a Euro 5 engine. The engine control units of the Beetle, Golf, Jetta, Passat and Audi A3 had been fitted with software that activated only during tests and was capable of falsifying downward the results for NOx emissions produced by combustion. A fraud with enormous environmental costs. The vehicles in question were thus able to pollute anywhere from ten to forty times more than the limits set by law.
Müller also announced – before 20,000 workers – that in order to meet the costs, Volkswagen will have to embark on a fairly demanding restructuring and austerity programme aimed at cutting costs, for example by deferring investment in machinery and infrastructure. The risk that the company could shut its doors is not ruled out, and Europe may soon find itself having to manage an economic crisis driven by the country once described as its locomotive.