The VW Emissions Scandal: They Cheated FOR YEARS!!

It was one of the costliest corporate Scandals of all time one that left a Venerable brand in tatters a scandal That allowed one of the biggest Companies in the world to claim esg Credentials while still polluting the Atmosphere It’s a scandal that still haunts the Automotive industry to this day and it’s What i’ll be covering in this video so Don’t go anywhere [Music] Before we switch on the ignition we need A disclaimer to aid your cognition Giving financial advice isn’t part of my Mission education and entertainment are My only emissions So contact a financial advisor if your Finances look fishy To those who only just stumbled into This place please try not to be put off By this face my name is guy and here at The coin bureau is where i reside My team and i provide you with the best Crypto and related content that money Can’t buy That’s right no adverts or sponsored Shout outs to endure just a whole lot of Knowledge unsullied and pure if that Sounds like something that’s up your Avenue hit subscribe and the bell icon So you’ll know when the next video’s due Okay now that’s all done and dusted Let’s find out which naughty company got

Itself busted The volkswagen emissions scandal Sometimes known as dieselgate or Emissionsgate dates back to september 2015 when the united states Environmental protection agency epa Issued a notice of violation of the Clean air act to german carmaker Volkswagen The agency had found that volkswagen had Intentionally programmed turbocharged Direct injection tdi diesel engines to Only activate their emissions controls During laboratory testing Vw admitted to installing what are Called defeat devices in millions of its Diesel-powered cars This saw technical software detect when Cars were being tested for compliance With emissions rules This software then adjusted the Diesel-powered engines so that they Passed the compliance tests However in normal use it was discovered That these engines emitted far more Pollution including up to 40 times more Nitrogen dioxide than the permitted Levels And this had all been going on for years Now to this day it’s still largely Unknown how many employees and Executives knew about these defeat Devices what they were doing and why But what’s even more staggering is that

Vw which had always positioned itself in The minds of automotive aficionados as One of the most advanced and Cutting-edge vehicle producers deployed This emissions cheating software in About 11 million cars worldwide Including 500 000 in the us in model Years 2009 through to 2015. Now if you’re wondering how the heck Volkswagen managed to get away Undetected with its pollution scheme for So many years and how it was finally Caught by regulators Well here’s some background for you Now in 2014 the california air resources Board or carb commissioned from the International council on clean Transportation icct A study on emissions discrepancies Between european and u.s models of Vehicles summing up the data on 15 Vehicles from three different sources Among those recruited for this task was A group of five scientists at the west Virginia university center for Alternative fuels engines and emissions These five scientists used a japanese Onboard emission test system and Detected additional emissions during Live road tests on two out of three Diesel cars The icct furthermore purchased data from Two other sources The data-driven outcome induced

International regulators to investigate Volkswagen which subsequently caused its Stock price to fall in value by a third In the days immediately after the news Broke The combination of bad news partnered With the growing concerns regarding the Potential wrongdoing within the Volkswagen organization led vw group ceo Martin vintercorn to resign On top of that the head of brand Development at volkswagen heinz jacob Neuser audi research and development Head ulrich huckenberg and porsche Research and development head wolfgang Hats were also suspended In light of the allegations in april 2016 volkswagen announced plans to spend 16.2 billion euros on rectifying the Emissions issues and planned to refit The affected vehicles as part of a Recall campaign But then in january 2017 volkswagen Pleaded guilty to criminal charges and Signed an agreed statement of facts Which drew on the results of an Investigation volkswagen had itself Commissioned from u.s lawyers The statement set out how engineers had Developed and built the defeat devices Because diesel models could not pass u.s Emissions tests without them and Deliberately sought to conceal their use Consequently in april 2017 a u.s federal

Judge ordered volkswagen to pay a Whopping 2.8 billion dollar criminal Fine for quote rigging diesel-powered Vehicles to cheat on government Emissions tests Subsequently ex-ceo vintacorn was Charged in the united states with fraud And conspiracy on the 3rd of may 2018 But what’s even more staggering about This is that as of june 2020 the scandal Had cost the german manufacturer up to 33.3 billion Due to fines penalties financial Settlements and buyback costs At present various government and civil Actions are ongoing in the u.s and the European union where most of the Affected vehicles are located While these vehicles remain legal to Drive in the eu consumer groups and Governments have sought to make sure That vw has compensated owners Appropriately as it has had to do in the Us Now the scandal raised awareness over The higher levels of pollution emitted By the vast majority of diesel-powered Engines from a wide range of car Manufacturers which under real-world Driving conditions exceeded legal Emission limits For instance a study conducted by the Adac the largest european motoring Organization showed the largest

Emissions deviations from producers like Volvo renault jeep hyundai citron and Feared which naturally resulted in Investigations opening into other diesel Emissions scandals On that note a discussion was sparked on The topic of software controlled Machinery being generally prone to Cheating with a possible way out of this System entailing the open sourcing of The software for public scrutiny And with that it’s time to get a bit Technical so here’s the science bit Concentrate The 1980s saw the development of Three-way catalytic converter technology Which was very effective at reducing Nitrogen dioxide in petrol engine Exhaust However it did not work well for diesel Vehicles as unless treated these emit 20 Times more nitrogen dioxide than petrol Engines To deal with this dysfunctionality in 2005 a number of managers at volkswagen Intended to purchase the rights to Mercedes’s bulky expensive and high Maintenance treatment system called Blu-tec for reducing diesel exhaust Pollution Other vw managers rejected blue tech and Preferred to develop their own cheaper Solution called lnt The lnt team won

But surprise surprise their solution Didn’t actually work Now i will say that overall abiding by Technical compliance in the automotive Industry has often proven to be Incredibly hard For instance since 2016 38 out of 40 Diesel cars of all brands tested by adac Reportedly failed a no nitrogen dioxide Test based on government standards Nonetheless vw promoted and marketed What seemed to be the technological Miracle of fast cheap consumer-friendly Green diesel vehicles On paper that is in reality the system Failed to combine low fuel consumption With compliant nitrogen dioxide Emissions and in 2006 vw actively chose To program its engine control units to Switch from lower fuel consumption and High emissions to low emission compliant Mode when an emissions test was detected Essentially this led volkswagen-designed Engines to emit nitrogen dioxide levels Well above the permitted limit in daily Operation and to comply with the u.s Nitrogen dioxide standards when being Tested thereby constituting what is Commonly referred to as a defeat device In fact in 2015 the german news magazine De spiegel reported that at least 30 People at management level in vw had Known about the deceit for years of Course vw denied these allegations

Entirely Now starting in the 2009 model year the Volkswagen group reportedly began Migrating its diesel engines to a common Rail fuel injection system In technical terms this system allows For higher precision fuel delivery which Theoretically leads to better fuel Processing and by default to better Emissions control Since 2009 vw has described its diesel Engines as being as clean as if not Cleaner than the us and californian Requirements while providing good fuel Economy and exceptional performance And what’s especially curious about this Is that due to the apparently efficient Fuel economy provided by its diesel Engines in 2014 vw was registered with An impressive corporate average fuel Economy rate The seemingly low emission levels of Vw’s vehicles tested with the defeat Device in operation Enabled the company to receive green car Subsidies and even tax exemptions in the United states Okay so volkswagen’s engines were now Deemed green and environmentally Friendly but how were these alleged Emissions discrepancies discovered by Analysts testers and regulators well Let’s have a look shall we Now in 2014 a group of scientists at

West virginia university submitted a Proposal to the international council on Clean transportation And the co-lead of the us branch of icct John german awarded the student group a 50 000 grant for a study to conduct Tests on three diesel cars Namely a volkswagen passat a volkswagen Jetta and a bmw x5 the icct also Purchased data from emissions analytics A uk-based emissions consulting firm to Gain an additional more rounded estimate On the study Now in early 2014 two professors and two Students from west virginia university Began measuring and testing emissions From the three vehicles under real-world Road conditions These three vehicles were all Individually certified at a california Air resources board facility before the Tests as falling below the emissions Limits when using the standard Laboratory testing protocols pretty Smooth right Well not so fast The researchers drove the volkswagen Passat from los angeles to seattle and Back again covering most of the u.s west Coast and testing the passat’s emissions Over 2000 miles With regards to the bmw x5 the Researchers found that the vehicle was At or below the standard permitted

Emissions rate But under real driving conditions they Found the volkswagen jetta greatly Exceeded the us’s emissions limit by a Factor of 15 to 35 whereas the passat Exceeded the allowed levels by a factor Of 5 to 20. That is quite a discrepancy between the Lab-based tests and those executed in Real-world conditions Clearly the emissions thoroughly Exceeded legal limits set by both European and u.s standards Thus john german while analyzing the Apparent deceit initially argued that it Required a lot more effort than simply Adding some code to the engine software As the code would have inevitably been Validated by the analysts and Researchers However the research scientists did not Identify the defeat device itself in the Passat and jetta models they did however Report their findings in a study they Presented to the california air Resources board in may 2014 That same month colorado’s rapid screen Real-world emissions test data once Again reinforced the allegations of Volkswagen’s suspected abnormally high Emissions levels and after a year-long Investigation concerning the internal Mechanisms of the vw’s engines an International team of investigators

Identified the defeat device as a piece Of code labeled acoustic condition which Activated emissions curbing systems when The car’s computer identified it was Undergoing a test Perhaps a bit too sophisticated a Functionality for a standard acoustic Condition device don’t you think Of course the data-driven findings by Researchers and investigators led to the U.s environmental protection agency Filing a notice of violation against the German car manufacturer on the 18th of September 2015. the epa thus served a Notice of violation on the volkswagen Group alleging that approximately 480 000 volkswagen and audi cars equipped With 2-liter tdi engines and sold in the U.s between 2009 and 2015 had an Emissions compliance defeat device Installed Now according to the epa the defeat Device used by volkswagen detected the Position of the steering wheel the Vehicle’s speed the duration of the Engine’s mechanical operation and its Barometric pressure But what was particularly ingenious About this entire process was that the Criteria written into the underlying Structure of the defeat devices Very closely matched the epa’s required Emissions testing protocol which allowed The vehicle to comply with emissions

Regulations by properly activating all Emission controls during testing Criminally clever you might say But the epa’s noticed a violation Alleged that under normal driving Conditions the software suppressed the Emissions controls allowing for better Fuel economy at the expense of emitting Up to 40 times more nitrogen dioxide Than allowed by law According to the epa volkswagen had Insisted for over a year before the Outbreak of the scandal that the Emissions discrepancies were mere Technical glitches But when confronted with official Evidence on the use of defeat devices Volkswagen fully acknowledged that it Had manipulated the tests Now the first sign that volkswagen was Ready to come clean reportedly came on The 21st of august 2015 at a conference On green transportation at pacific grove California where an unnamed company Representative approached christopher Grundler director of the epa office of Transportation and air quality and Surprised him by informally admitting That the company had been deceiving Regulators And a california air resources board Official apparently was standing next to Grundler at the time But formal acknowledgement of the

Deception was made by volkswagen Executives in germany and the united States to epa and california officials During a conference call in september 2015. during which volkswagen executives Discussed written materials provided to The participants which showed how Volkswagen’s diesel engine software Circumvented u.s emissions tests That admission came after the epa Threatened to withhold approval for the Company’s 2016 volkswagen and audi Diesel models Volkswagen consequently announced that 11 million of its manufactured cars had Been involved in falsified emissions Reports and that over 7 billion dollars Would be ultimately earmarked to deal With the costs of rectifying the Software at the heart of the scandal In light of this in november 2015 Volkswagen officially announced that in Addition to the two thousand dollars it Was offering current vw owners for Trade-ins of their Non-emissions-compliant cars 482 000 diesel audi and volkswagen Owners in the united states would be Eligible to receive 1 000 In vouchers Following its admission and recall plans In the united states volkswagen also Began to establish similar plans in the European union where it was estimated

That 8.5 million of the 11 million Diesel-powered vehicles affected by the Scandal were located In fact in 2018 the european union Warned volkswagen that it did not Believe that it was moving fast enough To issue repairs on recalled cars Provide consumers with appropriate Information on what steps vw was doing To resolve the problem and what Compensation it was offering affected Consumers in light of this volkswagen Agreed to pay a 1 billion euro fine Imposed by germany for failing to Monitor the employees that modified the Software behind the emissions scandal But folks it gets worse In germany over 60 000 civil lawsuits of Various degrees representing about 450 000 citizens were filed from 2015 Through to 2019 by vw owners seeking Similar compensation to what volkswagen Had awarded drivers in the us And a case led by the federation of German consumer organizations was also Brought against volkswagen At the higher regional court volkswagen Argued that while the united states had Banned the affected cars no eu member State had done so and thus there was no Basis for compensation However judge michael nayef rejected a Summary judgment for volkswagen in September 2019 allowing what was

Anticipated to be a multi-year case to Go forward In february 2020 volkswagen had settled With the federation of german consumer Organizations for approximately 830 Million euros providing between 1.3 and 6.2 000 euros to roughly 260 000 Volkswagen owners As was to be expected many consumers Were deeply angered by this settlement As it thoroughly undermined the Compensation structure that affected Volkswagen drivers had previously Received in the u.s A civil suit filed by one vw driver Managed to reach the federal court of Justice germany’s supreme court and in May 2020 the supreme court ruled that The consumer was entitled to a Compensation package entailing the full Market value of the car which was Several times larger than what the Settlement would have originally offered However it still remains unclear how Much volkswagen will effectively owe as A result of the civil lawsuits A similar class action lawsuit against Volkswagen representing more than 91 000 Owners is currently underway in the uk Seeking greater compensation for being Sold vehicles known by volkswagen to be Defective In april 2020 the high court of justice Gave its preliminary findings stating

That there was a likelihood that Volkswagen sold cars with a defeat Device installed and thus allowing the Trial to go forward now setting monetary Compensation structures aside for a Second perhaps the most harrowing Component of this scandal is the impact That vehicles with built-in non-emission Compliant defeat devices are having on The environment The consequences of producing Diesel-powered vehicles that do not Respect international legal limits in Terms of pollution are dire For instance a peer-reviewed study Published in environmental research Letters estimated that approximately 59 Premature deaths will be caused by the Excess pollution generated between 2008 And 2015 by vehicles equipped with the Defeat device in the united states The study completed in 2015 also found That making these vehicles emissions Compliant by the start of 2016 would Avert an additional 130 early deaths Earlier peer-reviewed studies quoted Estimates ranging from 10 to 350 excess Deaths in the united states related to The defeat devices But perhaps most harrowing of all was a Study completed in 2022 in which Economists argued that every cheating Volkswagen car in every 1000 cars on the

Road caused a 1.7 increase in infant Mortality On top of this on a global scale Vehicles that do not comply with International pollution standards Release an excessive amount of nitrogen Dioxide which consequently leads to Higher levels of smog and acid rain What these studies show is that the cars Carrying the defeat devices were not Only bad for the environment but took a Toll on human life as well Food for thought for all you vw Aficionados out there So with that in mind let’s see how all Of this affected volkswagen shall we On the 21st of september 2015 the first Day of trading after the epa’s notice of Violation to volkswagen became public The share price of volkswagen ag fell by A whopping 20 on the frankfurt stock Exchange The next day the stock fell by another 12 dropping below 100 euros to record a Four-year low before regaining some lost Ground Share prices of other german automakers Were also affected with bmw down 4.9 Percent and daimler down 5.8 percent As a result of plummeting share prices Qatar one of the biggest volkswagen Shareholders with a 17 stake in the Company lost nearly 5 billion As the company’s stock value fell

This market volatility was also Reflected in the sales performance of Volkswagen vehicles pointing towards a Staggering 24 decline in sales in the us Surprisingly in the uk the scandal did Not affect sales which actually Increased in 2016 to an all-time high Placing volkswagen second in the league Of best-selling cars Not a great reflection on us brits Really Moreover documents obtained by cee bank Watch network provided details for the European investment bank eib statement That its loans to volkswagen may have Been connected to the car makers use of Cheating devices to rig emissions tests In fact during the bank’s annual press Conference on the 14th of january 2016 Its president verna hoya admitted that The 400 million euro loan might have Been used in the creation of the Emissions defeat device At that time many redacted documents Obtained by bankwatch along with the eib Not entirely disclosing the details of Its loan hinted towards the bank Possibly already knowing that there were Some discrepancies with the internal Mechanisms of volkswagen’s diesel Engines However in 2017 the european anti-fraud Office olaf Found that volkswagen had in fact misled

The bank about its use of emissions Cheating software Now as you can imagine the volkswagen Scandal did not go down well in the Media reuters argued that the crisis at Volkswagen could have been a bigger Threat to the german economy than the Consequences of the greek sovereign debt Crisis of 2015. Deutsche weller a german state Broadcaster stated that quote a lawsuit Tsunami was headed for volkswagen at the Time with the scandal tarnishing the Volkswagen brand and the image of Germany by extension this was a case of Wide scale cynical deceit and volkswagen Is still paying the price for its Actions to this day And the company’s logic in all of this Is also incredibly difficult to Understand Rather than seek to produce more Environmentally friendly cars it instead Opted to cheat its way past regulators And cynically maximize profits as a Result it ended up having to part with Billions in fines and compensation deals Money which could have been better spent Actually lowering the emissions of its Vehicles It just goes to show that even the most Well-respected and well-established International companies aren’t above Shady practices in the name of profit

Well i hope you enjoyed that one folks But i would love your feedback on this Video so what do you think about the Volkswagen defeat devices is this the Biggest scandal ever in the automotive Industry Fire those thoughts down below Remember to subscribe to the channel and Ping that notification bell if you would Like to keep getting the highest quality Crypto content on the scene Make sure you also check out the coin Bureau clips channel to get all the Information you need on emergency crypto Market moves I’ll see you very soon but until then i Can be found on tick tock telegram Instagram and twitter subscribing to my Weekly newsletter will make your crypto Life supremely better because it’s Packed with all the tips and tricks that Will make your gains stick you may also Want to check out my deals page it’s got Some of the best crypto deals and promos On the market today Thank you so much for watching folks and I’ll see you all very soon my name is Guy and you have been watching the coin Bureau [Music] You