The reason for this state of affairs was the well-known diesel scandal, dubbed "dieselgate," which erupted due to the understating of real emission figures on the concern's vehicles with diesel engines.
According to The Wall Street Journal, over the past year, total sales of the Volkswagen brand decreased by 2 percent, amounting to 9.9 million units. In connection with the scandal that broke out, the company even decided to abandon its signature slogan "Das Auto," hoping to start "with a clean slate" and convince buyers and critics to forget about the unpleasant story with diesel engines.
Among the recent events related to dieselgate, a new demand from American authorities stands out. They insist that the company not only apologize to customers in the US but also buy back the sold vehicles equipped with "tricky" software. This concerns about 115 thousand cars. In that case, Volkswagen is obliged either to return the full cost of the car to the owners or offer them a new car with a significant discount.
