Dealer Group Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen

CHICAGO — On Wednesday, Ed Napleton, president of the Napleton Auto Group, filed a class action lawsuit against Volkswagen in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of three of his Volkswagen dealerships. The lawsuit stated that the manufacturer intentionally defrauded dealers by installing “defeat devices” in its diesel cars. ... Read More »

NADA Statement on Departure of VW of America CEO Michael Horn

TYSONS, Va. – This week’s departure of Volkswagen of America’s President and CEO Michael Horn is a significant blow to the VW dealer network, which has been operating in crisis mode for more than six months. What’s most regrettable about Mr. Horn’s departure is that it leaves more questions than answers for the 652 Volkswagen ... Read More »

VW Credit Teams With Safe-Guard on New Line of F&I Products

HERNDON, Va. — VW Credit Inc. — doing business as Volkswagen Credit, Audi Financial Services and Ducati Financial Services — has announced a new line of Volkswagen, Audi and Ducati branded lines of automobile and motorcycle protection products for the U.S. market. The captive said this week it reached an agreement with Safe-Guard Products International ... Read More »

Volkswagen Fix Rejected by California Board as Setbacks Grow

Volkswagen AG’s work to overcome the emissions-cheating scandal was set back after the California Air Resources Board rejected its proposed engine fix as “incomplete,” just a day before Chief Executive Officer Matthias Mueller meets regulators to discuss ways out of the crisis. “Volkswagen made a decision to cheat on emissions tests and then tried to cover ... Read More »

December Auto Sales Soar 9% in Record Year

Automakers posted a solid 9% sales gain in December, an exclamation point that sealed 2015 as the biggest sales year ever for the industry, reported USA Today. All told, automakers sold 17.47 million new vehicles for the year, Autodata reported, besting the previous record set in 2000 by 68,138 vehicles. Low gas prices, cheap credit, low unemployment, soaring consumer confidence and warm weather ... Read More »

VW Faces Billions in Fines as U.S. Sues for Environmental Violations

The U.S. Justice Department has sued Volkswagen for up to $48 billion for allegedly violating environmental laws – a reminder of the carmaker’s problems nearly four months after its emissions scandal broke. Although such U.S. lawsuits are typically settled at a fraction of the theoretical maximum penalty, analysts said the size of the claim meant ... Read More »

U.S. Brands Tap European Auto Recovery as Volkswagen Left Behind

European car sales rose 13.7 percent in November, according to industry data published on Tuesday, with U.S. brands recording strong gains as Volkswagen continued to pay the price of its diesel emissions test-rigging scandal, reports Reuters. Registrations rose to 1.12 million cars last month from 989,758 a year earlier, the Brussels-based Association of European Carmakers ... Read More »

VW Will Cut Spending By $1 Billion, Launch All-Electric Phaeton in EV push

MUNICH — Volkswagen Group said it will reduce investment spending at the VW brand by 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) a year, as well as switch to a different diesel emissions treatment technology and launch an all-electric Phaeton sedan as the flagship for a new focus on electrification, reports Automotive News. VW will increase its ... Read More »

VW CEO Resigns Amid Emissions Scandal

VW Interim Chairman to Stay On, Hunt for Piech Successor Continues: Bild

Volkswagen is still looking for a successor to former chairman Ferdinand Piech, meaning the interim holder of the position, Berthold Huber, is likely to stay until at least the end of the year, reports Reuters. Following the departure of patriarch Ferdinand Piech in April, who resigned after losing a showdown with Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn, former union ... Read More »