My concern is the overall blowback from this situation.
The group is already taking a massive hit financially with its share price tanking, and the long term legal implications in US alone will be painful let alone should it end up paying some price in Europe. The biggest concern is the damage to the reputation of the group and its brands.
Despite SEAT in recent years making firm strides in turning its fortunes around, the new Leon certainly now leading that resurgence. It can still be seen as a loss making brand to the overall group, and only a few years ago there was talk of VW offloading SEAT or even closing it down.
As VAG starts to take a financial kicking from this, it could end up damaging if not destroying some of its satellite brands in an attempt to save itself from ruin.
I hope that is not the case and VAG can weather this storm, but I am just highlighting that the resulting repercussions could stretch far and wide for many years to come.
some good comments, i am too concerned about the bigger long term consequence.
One of the issues for me is that the VAG group almost has too many groups fighting over relatively similar ground.
Audi, VW, Seat, Skoda there is not enough of a differential between them, any group that does well, or not so well has a potential inpact onto the others.
for example, i have put the makes in order of prestige as i see it, but i am aware that many people would put skoda ahead of seat. and in some respects thats the issue with seat, its lack of identity.
Audi - brand name
VW name and reputation
Skoda - good value
Seat.. it cant push the good value too much to not upseet skoda, prestige wise its not going to win over VW/audi, but there is little point in doing so anyway. ( think there were rumblings over early cupras overlapping audi before seat went 'sporty'.
So its the sporty brand?
so, lets say the group shrinks due to fallnig sales and costs incured, which brand do you drop or save money on..
However i still suspect this is an indiustry wide
problem, but with VW being perhaps more blatent in what they have done, the US will go after the group significantly.
Regards petrol being effected, i recently left work in the evironmental technology sector, - latest/upcoming EURO legislation mean that some of the technology used to control diesl emissions is needed for larger petrol engines.