VOLKSWAGEN’S new boss, Matthias Müller, was no doubt hoping that his firm’s launches of new models at the Geneva motor show this week would help it move on from the scandal over its cheating in emissions tests. A British prankster had other ideas. As VW’s sales chief, Jürgen Stackmann, unveiled a new version of the Up city car, Simon Brodkin, a comic whose past targets include FIFA’s former boss, Sepp Blatter, gatecrashed the presentation in overalls, with a spanner and a “cheat box” which he tried to fit to the car (see picture), before being led off by security men.
Mr Müller can afford to see the funny side of the stunt: he owes his job to the scandal. He was brought in to replace Martin Winterkorn, who was forced out when it emerged last September that 11m of the company’s diesel cars had been fitted with software to cheat tests for nitrogen-oxide emissions. This week VW admitted that Mr Winterkorn had been sent a memo in May 2014 about irregularities in the cars’ emissions, but said he may not have read it. Speaking to The Economist in Geneva, Mr Müller promised “monumental change”. But whatever VW does...Continue reading
Source: Business and finance http://ift.tt/1QuqZLJ
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