Volkswagen has said it will set aside €6.5 billion to cover the cost of a diesel emissions scandal in which it repeatedly deceived the US Environment Protection Agency about how much noxious gas its cars were emitting.
The German carmaker has said it wants to "win back the trust of its customers" now that Volkswagen’s reputation as a byword for quality and reliability lies in tatters.
The emissions scandal comes just a month after a car-hacking controversy. In August it was discovered that Volkswagen had taken out a High Court ruling to suppress a report by three academics that showed that the car security system used by Volkswagen and many other car manufacturers could be disabled by thieves in a matter of minutes.
Read more:
How a security loophole left thousands of vehicles vulnerable
Car-hacking scandal: The models affected
Shares dive €15bn after the revelations
Car emissions figures could be fiddled in Europe
Volkswagen Q&A: what is the emissions scandal?
The device is used by a total of 26 car manufacturers including Audi, Fiat, Honda, Volvo as well as Volkswagen. Many top-range brands including Bentley, Ferrari, Porsche and Maserati are among those known to use them.
After over a year of negotiations, in which Volkswagen said the paper could teach people how to hotwire cars, the High Court ruling was overturned and the paper was published in August.
A spokesman for Volkswagen said they tried to stop the report in the interest of their customers. “We would not make available information that might enable unauthorised individuals to gain access to our cars,” a spokesman said.
