As R&D was at a premium in car companies reorienting to
electric and even driverless cars, Volkswagen could ill-afford the suspension
of the European Investment Bank’s low-cost financing in 2017. The company “was
barred from receiving European Union research funding over allegations it
misused a previous loan to cheat on emissions” by programming “11 million cars
to fool regulators.”[1] At
issue were the company’s “use of so-called defect devices, software that caused
pollution controls in diesel motors to work properly only when the engine
computer detected that an official emissions test was underway.”[2]
Accordingly, the European Anti-Fraud Office concluded that the company had
misled authorities about how €400 million ($472 million) was used ostensibly to
develop engines to be more fuel efficient and thus pollute less. I contend that
the company’s reply was worse than none.
The full essay is at "Unethical Business at Volkswagen."
A related book: Cases of Unethical Business, can be obtained in print or as an ebook at Amazon.com.
1. Jack
Ewing, “European
Bank Cuts Funds to VW Because of Emissions Fraud,” The New York Times, August 1, 2017.
2. Ibid.
