The Volkswagen emissions scandal
back programmes (EPA, 2019). This was the largest settlement ever reached in the automotive industry. Furthermore, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed criminal charges against Volkswagen in parallel to the civil lawsuit, for conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and violating the Clean Air Act. In 2017, Volkswagen pled guilty and agreed to pay $2.8 billion in criminal fines (Parloff, 2018). By contrast, the European response was slower and less coordinated, but this was predominantly due to differences in emissions regulations, allowing VW to argue that non-American customers suffered no injury because of the more lenient NOx limits in Europe. Although Volkswagen faced a multitude of class-action lawsuits in Europe, there was little payout compared to the US settlements, and not much could be done as the authorities were faced with a slew of handicaps (Parloff, 2018.)
Conclusion
The Volkswagen emissions scandal is a powerful example of what can happen when companies choose sales over honesty or deception over integrity. By intentionally rigging emissions tests and misleading consumers, VW didn’t just break environmental laws ; they also shattered the trust of their customers and exposed serious flaws in their corporate governance. The fallout from Dieselgate, in relation to stronger regulations and corporate responsibility, is still being felt across the automotive industry.
Bibliography
EPA. 2019. ‘Volkswagen Clean Air Act civil settlement ’ , https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/volkswagen- clean-air-act-civil-settlement#violations Fitzgerald, A., and D. Spencer. 2020. ‘Governmentality and environmental rights: regulatory failure and the V olkswagen emissions fraud case’ , Critical Criminology 28.1. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10612-020-09499-0 Flender, S. 2020. ‘The lie of clean diesel.’ The Startup. https://medium.com/swlh/the-lie-of-clean-diesel- f55b75031066 Forsgren, R. 2019. ‘Dieselgate: a case study in engineering ethics.’ https://chelseatroy.com/wp- content/uploads/2020/09/449831323-Dieselgate-Study-04.pdf Glinton , S. 2015. ‘How a little lab in West Virginia c aught Volkswagen’s big cheat.’ Npr.org. https://www.npr.org/2015/09/24/443053672/how-a-little-lab-in-west-virginia-caught- volkswagens-big-cheat Parloff, R. 2018. ‘ How VW paid $25 b illion for ‘Dieselgate’ — and got off easy. ’ Fortune. https://fortune.com/2018/02/06/volkswagen-vw-emissions-scandal-penalties/ Pilkington, B. 2022. ‘ Gasoline vs diesel: which is more polluting? ’ AZoCleantech.com. https://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1580 Rattalma, M. 2017. Dieselgate. Google Books. https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Eo0JDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP5&dq=thesis+ on+dieselgate+volkswagen+legal+perspective&ots=clyUpQzl1a&sig=Vp4ZFLfxrJc_naniVXFSF1B 2CU0#v=onepage&q&f=false
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