Wolfsburg (Germany)- Volkswagen is facing slowing orders for new cars with consumers shunning purchases, VW’s top labour representative told reporters on Friday.
“There is caution in buying,” the German company’s works council Chief Bernd Osterloh said in Wolfsburg.
Osterloh said the caution was because the automaker admitted this month it understated fuel usage and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
“The CO2 issue has triggered a greater crisis of confidence (in VW products) than the nitrogen (emissions) issue,” he said.
VW said on Nov. 3 it had manipulated the level of CO2 emissions in about 800,000 cars sold mainly in Europe.
It said it was expecting costs of at least 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) including compensation payments to customers.
Two weeks later, VW said the CO2 cheating, which mainly involved diesel cars, affected more petrol-powered vehicles than previously disclosed.
The revelations about fuel economy and CO2 emissions have deepened the crisis at VW, which initially centred on software used on up to 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide that VW admitted in September.
Global sales of VW group vehicles fell 3.5 per cent in October, though they edged up 0.5 per cent in Germany.
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VW has denied reports that orders and sales have started to plunge in the wake of the CO2 admissions. (Reuters/NAN)
