VW's diesel emissions revelations could be great news for Tesla
The big news of the week has clearly been Volkswagen's admission that up to 11 million vehicles it made could be misreporting their true emission levels. VW’s share price has plummeted as a result, and some reports suggest the crisis could even completely kill the diesel passenger car market globally . However, the revelations could well be great news for Tesla, and other EV manufacturers. With the benefits of diesel being overstated, the market is now slowly beginning to turn against diesel cars, even in countries like the UK, where they had overtaken petrol car sales. Combine this with the improvements in battery technology for electric cars and the slowly increasing trickle of electric car charging points and the odds begin to stack in electric’s favour. This is a viewpoint that Bernstein Research holds, according to The Guardian.

Here’s Winterkorn’s statement, courtesy of Die Welt and Google Translate:

“Ladies and gentlemen, the irregularities in diesel engines of our group contradict everything which Volkswagen stands for. Also I have not yet got the answers to all these questions at the moment. But we are about to uncover the background relentlessly. In addition at this time we will put everything on the table - as quickly, thoroughly and transparently as possible. And we will continue to work closely with the relevant state agencies and authorities. This quick and comprehensive information is a top priority. We owe that to our customers, our employees and the public. And to put it bluntly: manipulation at Volkswagen must never happen again.

Ladies and gentlemen, many millions of people around the world trust our brands, our cars and our technologies. I’m so sorry that we have broken this trust. I apologize to our customers... and the general public for the misconduct. Please believe me, we will do everything possible to make amends for any damage. And we will do everything to regain your confidence step by step.



In our group, more than 600,000 people are working to build the best cars for our customers. To our employees, I say, I know with how much effort and great real sincerity they do their work day after day. I am well aware that much is now questioned. I understand that. But it would be wrong if the hard and honest work of 600,000 people comes general suspicion because of the bad mistakes of a few. Our team does not deserve this. So we ask, I ask for your trust on our journey....We are working intensively on the necessary technical solutions, and we will do everything possible to prevent harm to our customers and employees. I give you my word, in all of this, we will proceed with the utmost openness and transparency. “

