AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)01/17 Report--

The emissions fraud incident tarnished Volkswagen Group's reputation and used "cheating software" to deceive regulators' emission tests. after it was exposed, Volkswagen was caught in a whirlpool of public opinion and was punished one after another by the United States and a number of countries, and fines went up. Poland has imposed the biggest fine on Volkswagen in the country's history.

Volkswagen will be fined 120.6 million zlotys (219 million yuan) for misleading consumers about emissions, according to a statement issued by the Polish Competition and Consumer Protection Agency on January 15, according to foreign media reports. this is also the highest fine issued by the Polish consumer watchdog.

In punishing Volkswagen, the Polish Consumer Protection Agency said in a statement that Volkswagen proved its cars to be "environmentally friendly" by manipulating testing instruments, which was misleading to consumers. Nihchawu, head of the bureau, said that such a heavy penalty is due to Volkswagen's unfair competition in recent years and Volkswagen's failure to take substantive measures to address the impact of emissions on the Polish people and the environment. No settlement has been reached on the issue.

The Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal came to light in 2015, when Volkswagen admitted to controlling the software of some diesel engines to run only during regulatory testing and shutting down during normal driving, thus avoiding emissions testing. Over the past four years, Volkswagen has been involved in a number of lawsuits, the relevant executives have been charged with imprisonment, and several countries have punished Volkswagen one after another. so far, Volkswagen has lost as much as 30 billion euros (234.8 billion yuan) due to emission gates, losses and compensation continue, and the impact of emission gates continues to ferment.

Recently, nearly 100000 car owners in the UK have filed a class action against Volkswagen Group, demanding that the group be held responsible for "emissions cheating" and "misleading consumers", according to comprehensive foreign media reports. Earlier, Volkswagen Group reached a settlement agreement with Australian car owners on the "emission gate", under which Volkswagen will pay compensation to each of the affected car owners, with a total compensation expected to be up to 127 million Australian dollars, or about 616 million yuan. The fine set a record for Australian officials to impose fines for violations of the Consumer Law. Previously, Volkswagen Group has reached billions of dollars in settlement agreements with car owners in the United States and Canada.

In Volkswagen Group's home country, Volkswagen was also sued by tens of thousands of German consumers, and a German consumer organization filed a complaint with the court for financial compensation on their behalf. Volkswagen said it was negotiating with a group of German car victims to reach a settlement.

Chinese consumers are very sensitive to the news that Volkswagen has been punished one after another abroad. On social networks, many consumers said, "it's all right, there are Chinese car owners to support you, and there is a strong and profiteering Chinese market as backing." Come on, Volkswagen. " Some consumers also said that don't worry about China, you can continue to make money by reducing the allocation.

From the perspective of consumers, it reflects the public opinion environment of Volkswagen Group in the Chinese market. Not long ago, C-IASI released the test results of SAIC-Volkswagen Passat. The result of bias collision created a new low in the history of Passat, and there were obvious serious problems in safety structure and material strength. Many consumers reported that Volkswagen had reduced its distribution in China and sought profits at the expense of safety.

It is worth noting that the Chinese market is the largest single market of Volkswagen Group in the world. According to official figures, Volkswagen Group's global sales reached 10.9746 million vehicles in 2019, up 1.3% from a year earlier. In the Chinese market, Volkswagen Group's overall sales reached 4.2336 million vehicles, up 0.6% from a year earlier, accounting for more than 1/3 of Volkswagen Group's global sales, reaching 38.6%. (Volkswagen Group includes Volkswagen brands, Skoda, Audi, Porsche, etc.)

Volkswagen brands account for a higher proportion. Global sales reached 6.2783 million vehicles in 2019, up 0.5 per cent from a year earlier, according to sales figures released by the Volkswagen brand. In China, the world's largest single market, Volkswagen brand sales rose 1.7% in 2019 to 3.1632 million vehicles, accounting for 50.38% of global sales.

Volkswagen has experienced broken axle doors, car odor doors, 315 sharp water gates and Passat crash scores in China over the years, but it has not received a single ticket from China.

As for the emissions scandal, Volkswagen has paid a heavy price and will bear a higher price in the future. Volkswagen has made various efforts to get rid of the influence of the scandal. Volkswagen Group has expressed its determination to make a complete transition to new energy vehicles, which plans to invest 60 billion euros in new energy vehicles, electric travel and digital between 2020 and 2024. At the same time, Volkswagen also announced that it will launch 75 all-electric models and 60 hybrid models by 2029.

Mass emissions continue to ferment, for the public will be a very long-lasting "nightmare". Although there is no direct impact on Volkswagen consumers in China, in this largest single market, Volkswagen should treat it attentively. If different standards and discriminatory practices are adopted, they will have to pay a heavy price.

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