The scandal surrounding Volkswagen installing technology to get around emissions tests has forced the CEO to resign. Matthew Partridge asks if there's more to come.
What's going on?
VW's chief executive, Martin Winterkorn, has resigned, and the share price plunged by a third at one point, wiping $25bn off the company's value. Around 500,000 diesel cars sold in the US will have to be recalled, and VW has admitted that up to 11 million cars sold worldwide were fitted with the device (even though it was only intended to dodge US tests).
How much could it cost Volkswagen?
Criminal investigations have begun in both Germany and America, while it could face a barrage of lawsuits from customers who say that they were misled by the claims made about the cars' emissions. There is also the question about what this will do to the reputation of VW in general.
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Were any other carmakers involved?
The Independent claims that the report showed that "American models are much less safe when it comes tofront-side collisions, a common cause of accidents that often results in serious injuries". This report suggested that "trade negotiators would potentially be putting lives in danger by allowing vehicles approved in the US to be sold in Europe and vice-versa".
Are there any implications for German politics?
The German government has claimed that it didn't know anything about the specific issues at VW, but the opposition Green Party has pointed out that in July it acknowledged that "defeat devices" existed, and that there was little it could do to stop them being used to get around the law.
More generally, the UK and France have lobbied aggressively for a more lenient testing regime, despite concerns that it allowed firms to flaunt the regulations.
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