Get It In Gear Volkswagen!

In public relations, you often hear the importance of transparency and honesty. If a company does not uphold these values, it is bound to face issues with its publics. A company that is currently learning the importance of honesty is Volkswagen as it faces a growing crisis involving dishonest claims about its diesel cars emissions. When U.S. regulators claimed the German company had programmed some 500,000 vehicles to emit lower levels of harmful emissions in official tests than on the roads, millions of people from all around the world lost trust in the brand. Volkswagen has a long road ahead as it faces this global issue and the ramifications to the automotive industry as a whole. 

Volkswagen confessed to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency it was responsible for installing software in some of its diesel-engine vehicles that enabled them to trick regulators into believing the cars met the appropriate emission standards. This scandal has the potential to cause extreme damage to the automaker, facing a total of $18 billion in fines for its violation of emission standards on approximately 500,000 diesel cars. In the U.S., Volkswagen has apologized, ordered an external investigation and promised to set aside $7.3 billion to cover the recalls and other damage-control efforts. Rebuilding customer trust after this damaging blow to its reputation will be difficult and take time. Volkswagen Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn made a formal apology, stating the company’s commitment to its customers, employees and the public as it works to fix the problem and be as transparent as possible throughout the process:  

"Millions of people all over the world trust our brands, our cars and our technologies. I am deeply sorry that we have broken this trust. I would like to make a formal apology to our customers, to the authorities and to the general public for this misconduct. We will do everything necessary to reverse the damage. And we will do everything necessary to win back trust – step by step."

As Volkswagen moves forward and makes efforts to fix the technical issues, authenticity and transparency will be key. The world has been impacted by this scandal and winning back consumers’ trust will not be a simple task. Volkswagen’s reputation of reliability, efficiency and trustworthiness is at stake as this deceitful situation unfolds. How the automaker handles this crisis will change the way the company is viewed by the general public forever. Honesty is the best policy, especially if an entire industry is depending on it. I believe this scandal will be a popular public relations case we will see studied heavily in the future due to its impact on a global level.