Another Black Eye for VW
German daily Die Welt reported that the European Commission has found Volkswagen broke consumer laws in 20 European Union countries by cheating on emissions tests. Among them are the Consumer Sales and Guarantees Directive – which prohibits companies from touting exaggerated environmental claims in their sales pitches – and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, both of which apply across the EU, the paper said.
This report comes on the heels of an announcement by Australias Competition and Consumer Commission that it has sued VWs Australian arm for intentionally selling more than 57,000 vehicles with software that lied about levels of toxic emissions. These actions add to what is already a costly legal mess as VW faces lawsuits around the world over emissions fraud, as well as penalties from regulatory bodies.
On top of the news about VW is an admission by Mitsubishi that it manipulated fuel economy tests affecting hundreds of thousands of vehicles in Japan. The company said the flawed testing goes back nearly 25 years and resulted from pressure on company managers to keep pace with fuel economy rates reported by competitors.
Besides the financial fallout, these actions severely undermine consumer confidence, which affects all automakers. Car buyers can rightly wonder whether other companies have also manipulated their fuel economy and emissions data.
The ultimate consequence may be even more stringent regulations and accelerated deadlines. And lubricant suppliers will be under even more pressure to help formulate a solution.