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Volkswagen to cut investment by €1bn a year | Volkswagen to cut investment by €1bn a year |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Volkswagen has said it will cut investment by €1bn ($1.1bn; £750m) a year as a result of the diesel emissions scandal. | Volkswagen has said it will cut investment by €1bn ($1.1bn; £750m) a year as a result of the diesel emissions scandal. |
The troubled German carmaker said efficiency and technology would be the company's watchwords as it "repositioned itself for the future". | The troubled German carmaker said efficiency and technology would be the company's watchwords as it "repositioned itself for the future". |
It added that all new diesel cars would be fitted with the "best environmental technology". | It added that all new diesel cars would be fitted with the "best environmental technology". |
There will also be greater focus on hybrid and electric vehicles. | There will also be greater focus on hybrid and electric vehicles. |
"We are becoming more efficient, we are giving our product range and our core technologies a new focus, and we are creating room for forward-looking technologies by speeding up the efficiency programme," said VW's Dr Herbert Diess. | "We are becoming more efficient, we are giving our product range and our core technologies a new focus, and we are creating room for forward-looking technologies by speeding up the efficiency programme," said VW's Dr Herbert Diess. |
The carmaker said it would now be fitting the kinds of clean diesel technologies needed to meet stricter US standards across all its cars in both the US and Europe. | The carmaker said it would now be fitting the kinds of clean diesel technologies needed to meet stricter US standards across all its cars in both the US and Europe. |
It also revealed that its flagship Phaeton model would in the future be purely electric, capable of driving long distances on a single charge. | It also revealed that its flagship Phaeton model would in the future be purely electric, capable of driving long distances on a single charge. |
Analysis: Theo Leggett, BBC business correspondent | |
It's no surprise VW is cutting investment. It is facing potentially huge fines, class action lawsuits and possible criminal penalties, in the US and quite possibly other countries as well. The €6.5bn it has set aside to cover the costs of the emissions scandal is unlikely to be anywhere near enough. | |
The company now says it will only use "the best environmental technology" in its diesel cars. In practice, this means abandoning so-called 'lean NOx traps' in favour of more complex and more expensive urea injection technology. A cynic might say it should have done that much sooner. | |
So now VW will focus on developing electric cars and plug-in hybrids, using standard parts and processes that can be rolled out across different types of vehicles and different brands. | |
It's fair to say the industry as a whole is moving in this direction anyway. Even so, Volkswagen's change of course does look rather like a scandal-induced handbrake turn. | |
Investigation | Investigation |
VW has already appointed a new chief executive and chairman after the revelations last month that its cars cheated emissions tests in the US. | VW has already appointed a new chief executive and chairman after the revelations last month that its cars cheated emissions tests in the US. |
The company has launched a thorough investigation into the scandal, but new chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch warned last week that answers would take "some time". | The company has launched a thorough investigation into the scandal, but new chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch warned last week that answers would take "some time". |
VW has set aside €6.5bn ($7.4bn; £4.8bn) to cover the costs of the scandal, but some experts believe the final bill could be much higher. | VW has set aside €6.5bn ($7.4bn; £4.8bn) to cover the costs of the scandal, but some experts believe the final bill could be much higher. |
Shares in the company recovered slightly last week but are still down about 20% since the scandal broke in the middle of September. | Shares in the company recovered slightly last week but are still down about 20% since the scandal broke in the middle of September. |
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