Let’s be frank. We all know that VW Group was caught red-handed over its ‘creative’ approach to emissions a few years ago. And now reports are reaching us from the FT and elsewhere that the world’s largest car maker (VW Group includes Audi, Porsche and Seat) is to be hit with a €100m fine for missing strict EU emissions targets.
This comes at a bad time for VW as the company is working very hard to put all that behind it and is pushing what it calls, in surprisingly militaristic tones, an ‘e-offensive’, and having recently launched its flagship e- vehicle. (See also our story on the VW boss setting his sights on Tesla’s market share).
VW had been heralding news that it has hit its CO2 emission targets for its passenger car fleet, with a 20% drop in 2020 compared to the previous year (see more here). The VW Group is also said to be the clear BEV (battery electric vehicle) market leader in Western Europe, increasing a 14% share in 2019 to 25% in 2020.
So on the one hand things look rosy for VW and the other brands in its group, with Audi, CUPRA and Skoda all set to release new electric models. On the other, it’s very much ‘must try harder’.
When not taking a swipe at well-known Bowie/Bond villain clone Elon Musk, VW Group CEO Herbert Diess said “we are making good progress on the road to becoming a CO2-neutral company.”
At Need To Know Motors we’re letting bygones be bygones and are applauding VW Group’s efforts.