Page 12 The Skanner January 11, 2017
News
Despite scandal, VW in Running for Global Sales Crown
Former head of U.S. environmental compliance was arrested this week, and company may pay fines
By DAVID McHUGH
AP Business Writer
FRANKFURT,
Ger-
many (AP) — It’s ironic:
Volkswagen spent 2016
battling a huge scandal
over cars it rigged to
cheat on emissions tests.
And now stands a de-
cent chance to pass Toyo-
ta for the title of world’s
biggest carmaker for the
year.
Booming business in
China helped Volkswa-
gen increase its sales to
10.31 million vehicles last
year across all its brands,
which include Audi,
Porsche and Skoda, the
company said Tuesday.
That was an increase
of 3.8 percent over 2015,
when Volkswagen came
in second to Toyota. And
“
That Volkswagen is
even in the running for
top spot seems remark-
able considering how
terrible the year was on
investor lawsuits and
criminal probes in Ger-
many and the U.S., where
a heavy criminal fine is
likely. Volkswagen has
China is the big equalizer. Diesel plays no role
there, so your reputation can’t suffer. China to-
day is the center of the automotive world, for
Volkswagen as well
a strong finish to the year
in December — 11.8 per-
cent better than the same
month the year before —
improves the company’s
chances of moving from
No. 2 to No. 1 in global
sales.
the legal and image front.
The company based in
Wolfsburg,
Germany,
agreed to a $15 billion
settlement for claims
from U.S. environmental
authorities and owners
of 500,000 cars. It faces
admitted to equipping
diesel cars with software
that turned emission
controls on when the ve-
hicle was being tested
and off during daily driv-
ing.
The scandal news kept
coming this week as Ol-
iver Schmidt, Volkswa-
gen’s former head of
U.S. environmental com-
pliance, was arrested in
Florida and appeared in
a Detroit court in prison
garb and shackles. En-
gineer James Liang had
earlier pleaded guilty
and offered to assist fed-
eral law enforcement in
their investigation.
Despite all that, huge
demand in China may
be enough to push Volk-
swagen past its Japanese
rival and Detroit-based
General Motors. Neither
rival has reported 2016
sales yet. For 2015, Toyo-
ta Motor Co. came in first
with 10.15 million, Volk-
swagen was second with
9.93 million, and GM
third with 9.8 million.
Volkswagen’s
im-
proved sales show how
crucial China has become
for Germany’s carmak-
ers, including BMW and
Daimler. Of the three,
Volkswagen is the most
dependent on the Middle
Kingdom. It sold 3.98 mil-
lion cars there last year,
more than a third of its
total unit sales.
Read the rest of this story at
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