Volkswagen refuses to let its final investigation report go public

The German automotive giant, Volkswagen (VW) which has acquired 70% of the U.S. light-weight diesel car market, is now simmering in its own toxic juices for cheating on diesel emission tests.

The Volkswagen Group authorities revealed at the company’s annual shareholder meeting that they will no longer release the final report about the investigation into its diesel emission cheating scandals, conducted by U.S. law firm Jones Day.

Here’s an overview of what has happened so far:

Volkswagen’s special emissions software that allowed cars to sense the testing parameters set by the Environmental Protection Agency have been touted as a violation of the Clean Air Act. The so-called “defeat devices” were programmed to switch between two operating modes as per the parameters so that the cars would easily pass the test. Moreover, backed by a huge marketing campaign and the promotion of “Clean Diesel” as a strong alternative to electric and hybrid cars, VW accounted for a major surge in its sales.

Some time back, the company confessed that around 11 million cars across the globe and 8 million in Europe were installed with the so called “defeat devices.”  According to EPA’s findings, the fraud covered 482,000 cars in the U.S., comprising VW models Beetle, Golf, Jetta, and Passat and also the VW-manufactured Audi A3.

The Management and the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen have however recognized that a disclosure of the results of the investigation at this moment would invite heavy fines and more lawsuits for the company. The company’s top executives addressed its 3000 investors that there has been be no written concluding report by Jones Day and for some legal reasons, the company will avoid the publishing of their final report.

However, the shareholders at the meeting were not satisfied with the explanation and demanded a further clarification from the company to move on from their biggest-ever business crisis. Furthermore, a shareholder rights advocate argued that if the Justice Department approved their demand, VW management will have to “place all their cards on the table”, as per the sources.

Over time, VW got into a tentative agreement with the court to buy back all the affected diesel vehicles in the United States, which amounts to around 500,000 and would also generate funds to clean up the environment. This agreement has cost the carmaker more than USD 25 billion.

Despite the damage control measures and the never-ending calls from the investors, Volkswagen, as of now, holds strong in its resolution of not publishing the findings.