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VW Said to Suspend Plan to Restructure N. American Unit
Volkswagen AG will wait before moving ahead with a restructuring of its North American unit until it knows what regulatory penalties it faces for rigging 482,000 of its diesel-powered cars in the U.S. to cheat emission tests, sources tell Reuters.
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Volkswagen AG will wait before moving ahead with a restructuring of its North American unit until it knows what regulatory penalties it faces for rigging 482,000 of its diesel-powered cars in the U.S. to cheat emission tests, sources tell Reuters.
In September VW selected Winfried Vahland, head of its Skoda brand, to take over North American operations on Nov. 1. But he quit two weeks ago, citing “varying opinions” within the company about how to structure the unit.
Reuters’ sources say VW isn’t likely to name a successor for months until the U.S. reveals its penalties against the company. VW faces a maximum of $18 billion (€16.3 billion) in government fines for rigging its diesels to turn off key emission controls when they weren’t undergoing certification tests.
Also in question is VW’s overall diesel strategy in the U.S. Last year 22% of VW brand models were diesel-powered, a high ratio in the American market. But early reports say consumer demand for such models has plunged in the wake of the scandal.
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