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Volkswagen: A Decade Of Deception – Full Chronology

Courtesy of ZeroHedge. View original post here.

The scandal swirling around Germany's largest listed company had its beginnings in an attempt to crack the U.S. market, the missing link in VW's global footprint. But, as Handelsblatt details, what began as expansion ended in deception (piecing together the events that led up to the scandal, based on the facts as they are currently known).

Handelsblatt reports,

Volkswagen, the world’s largest automaker, has been brought to its knees by the emissions cheating scandal. The company’s share price has been virtually halved, its reputation is in tatters, customers are furious and employees are distraught.

Handelsblatt pieces together the events that led up to the scandal, based on the facts as they are currently known.

The following chronology is based on the work of six reporters and correspondents, who analyzed corporate documents and spoke to many of the people involved.

Chapter 1: The Big Plan is Hatched in Wolfsburg

February 2005

Wolfgang Bernhard becomes head of the group’s core VW brand and, with the help of CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder, begins developing a new engine that will work with “common rail injection.” The new engine is to be used above all in the United States, where VW wants to start growing again. The group hopes that diesel engines, which are more economical and accelerate quickly, will help it gain ground against U.S. and Japanese rivals. There is one problem, however: The U.S. authorities have the strictest environmental standards.

May 2005

Mr. Bernhard entrusts the new project to Rudolf Krebs, a developer at VW’s Audi brand. It quickly becomes apparent that it will be impossible to comply with U.S. emissions standards using current technology. Their solution is “adblue,” a technology used by German carmaker Daimler. Developers at VW and Audi are strongly opposed to the use of “adblue” in the planned engine, which later will come to be known as the EA 189, the engine containing the emissions cheating device. Mr. Bernhard is undeterred and presses on with plans for the new engine to incorporate “adblue” and common rail injection.

Fall 2006

The first prototype is tested in South Africa. Martin Winterkorn, the head of Audi, and Ferdinand Piëch, the chairman of the VW group’s supervisory board and a major shareholder, are reported to have been present, but are not said to have been impressed.

November 11, 2006

It emerges that Daimler and the VW group will offer diesel cars in the United States under the joint label “Bluetec.”

Chapter 2: The Plan Takes Shape in Wolfsburg

January 7, 2007

VW subsidiary Audi launches its diesel offensive in the United States at the Detroit Motor Show. It is the first German manufacturer to do so. Wolfgang Bernhard does not attend the show, which surprises journalists. It soon emerges that he is to leave the company at the end of January, after less than two years in his post.

007 Volkswagen VW - WTB 2015Neu 2015-09-28-01

February 2007

Martin Winterkorn is appointed as chief executive of the VW group. From his first day in office, he is aware that the group’s U.S. business is floundering. He knows that only diesel engines will enable VW to gain significant market share in the United States and to fend off Japanese rival Toyota and its hybrid drive.

May 2007

Mr. Winterkorn restructures VW’s development activities, dispatching engines chief Rudolf Krebs to the group’s Salzgitter plant and replacing him with Wolfgang Hatz, while putting Ulrich Hackenberg in charge of development. Both Mr. Hatz and Mr. Hackenberg were close confidants of Mr. Winterkorn at Audi.

July 20, 2007

The new Euro 5 and 6 emissions standards come into force in the European Union. Diesel engines in particular are to become cleaner. Manufacturers must ensure that vehicles do not exceed limits in “all operating conditions.” National authorities are called upon to check manufacturers’ specifications. The need to check whether manufacturers are using defeat devices is explicitly mentioned in regulation No. 715/2007.

August 2007

The diesel engine EA 189 is used for the first time in the new Tiguan model. It contains the software that will later be used to cheat in emissions tests, although it is not yet being used. The sporty off-road vehicle can comply with emissions standards in Europe, but not the stricter limits that apply in the United States.

The diesel engine EA 189 is used for the first time in August 2007 in the new VW Tiguan. It contains the software that will later be used to cheat in emissions tests, although it is not yet being used.

August 6, 2007

Volkswagen ends its Bluetec cooperation with Daimler. It now plans to market its diesel engines under the TDI brand.

During 2007

Volkswagen uses software in its EA 189 engine that allows vehicles to be switched into test mode. This is intended to make work easier for technicians, who will not have to perform the same routines on each car. The software was developed by automotive supplier Bosch, which warns VW against using it in series models.

September 11, 2007

At the International Motor Show in Frankfurt, German environmental organization DUH claims that actual emissions values are up to 45 percent higher than those stated by manufacturers and calls for measurements to be repeated. The German authorities do not respond.

winterkorn dpa 2008 auto exhibition

Martin Winterkorn, the perfectionist, autocratic CEO of Volkswagen, resigned on September 23. Here, Mr. Winterkorn inspects the model of a competitor at a 2008 auto show. Source: DPA

October 5, 2007

Stefan Jacoby takes over as head of VW’s U.S. business and announces the biggest restructuring in the group’s history. The U.S. subsidiary is reporting a loss of several hundred million dollars each year.

Chapter 3: The moment of deception

January 12, 2008

At the Detroit Motor Show, Matthias Wissmann, president of German automotive industry association VDA, says 2008 will be the year in which “clean diesel” achieves a breakthrough in the U.S. market. He predicts diesel cars will increase their market share from 3 to 15 percent by 2015, thanks to rising oil prices and stricter emissions standards.

August 2008

Volkswagen announces the launch of the VW Jetta 2.0 TDI in the United States, based on the EA 189. The company highlights the car’s low fuel consumption and low emissions, which have been made possible thanks to the cheat software.

November 20, 2008

The VW Jetta TDI wins an award for “Green Car of the Year” at the Los Angeles Auto Show. It is the first time that a diesel vehicle has won this award.

Chapter 4: The manipulation spreads

October 2008

VW fits the EA 189 diesel engine in the sixth generation of its mass-market Golf model.

May 8, 2009

VW presents its new 1.6 TDI engine, based on the EA 189, at the 30th Vienna Motor Symposium and says it will form the basis for all four-cylinder diesel engines at VW in future. The Audi A3 wins “Green Car of the Year” in the United States. It also has an EA 189 engine.

After 2012

VW installs the EA 189 in its Polo and Passat models, while Audi uses it for its A1, A3, A4 and A6 models, the TT sports car and the Q3 and Q5 all-terrain vehicles. The engine is also used in cars produced by the group’s Spanish subsidiary Seat and its Czech subsidiary Skoda.

Chapter 5: A technician blows the whistle

Winter 2011

A VW technician discovers the deception and informs Heinz-Jakob Neusser, head of engine development at the VW brand. Mr. Neusser notes the information but does not take it seriously, and nothing is made public. Mr. Neusser’s silence pays off, and from 2013 onwards he is in charge of development at the group.

The EA 189 engine proves popular with customers as it is economical, robust and durable, and is praised in particular by taxi drivers and traveling sales reps.

VW presents its new 1.6 TDI engine, based on the EA 189, in May 2009 at the 30th Vienna Motor Symposium and says it will form the basis for all four-cylinder diesel engines at VW in future.

Continue here.

 

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