VW increases German sales, despite scandal

Sources inside the Wolfsburg-based firm have confirmed that against most expectations, sales in Germany have increased since the emissions scandal broke in September.

But the broader picture is not all reassuring for Volkswagen. Sales in Britain have dipped, a fact which the car company attributed to the scandal.

Nonetheless, on the whole, weeks of bad headlines created by the controversy have not had a significant impact on sales.

New CEO Matthias Müller announced last week that new orders had remained stable in recent weeks.

But the controversy is still set to have expensive repercussions for the company. Just to alter the affected cars, Volkswagen needs to come up with around 10,000 different solutions.

The reason for this is the wide variety of engine models, car models, types of gear box and production years of the various affected cars.

Volkswagen fitted around 11 million cars globally – including Audis and Skodas – with a defeat device, a software which only turns on an emissions lowering chemical mechanism when cars are undergoing testing.