Diesel Emissions Aren't the Only Thing Volkswagen Lied About
Volkswagen‘s French division has reportedly been lying about how many vehicles it has delivered.
According to a report from Germany’s Der Spiegel, the Volkswagen’s French division has been fibbing delivery numbers to the company’s German headquarters since 2010, with inflated figures for the Volkswagen brand, Audi, Skoda, and Seat. The move was done to make its performance look better and internal auditors report the inaccurate information added almost 800,000 vehicles to the total. The auditors discovered vehicles were being registered to their owners “several months or even years” after the deliveries were recorded, and that some vehicles marked as delivered didn’t even have purchase contracts.
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A spokesperson from Volkswagen declined to comment, saying that the automaker “doesn’t comment on internal documents.” According to the report, Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller was given the auditors’ report on April 24, and Volkswagen’s head of French operations, Jacques Rivoal, quit as a result. His departure was announced by the German automaker in May, with the company citing “strategic differences” as the reason for his exit.
[Source: Reuters]
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Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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