In early April, just when the public was troubled by the rights protection incident in China, another piece of news blew the public away like a bomb.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that a number of Volkswagen models are suspected of falsifying emissions. These models are all Volkswagen diesel models, and as many as 580,000 vehicles are suspected of being falsified in the United States.
According to U.S. law, the maximum penalty for each vehicle that violates emission regulations can reach 37,500 yuan, and the maximum penalty for Volkswagen's illegal vehicles in the United States can reach 21.75 billion U.S. dollars.
In addition to fines, Convenient America also said it would urge Volkswagen to provide maintenance advice. If no specific plan is given before June this year, all models suspected of violating emission regulations will be banned from being sold in the U.S. market.
The incident was like a bomb. For the German public, if China's rights protection incident was like a knife stabbed into itself, then the exhaust valve time was like a shotgun blasted into itself.
They are very clear about the way the U.S. government does things. The United States and the European Union have been in a secret war over the years. They are very ruthless in attacking each other.
The European Union has imposed sky-high fines on Google, Apple and many other companies. The United States is naturally looking for opportunities, and now the opportunity has come.
The Volkswagen exhaust scandal broke out at this time, and the entire automobile industry was shocked.
Especially in North America and Europe. Because the vehicles involved this time are all diesel vehicles. There are more of these models in Europe, especially in Germany.
Adding up all the models, the number of these models is as high as 11 million, which is a very scary number. You must know that diesel cars are called clean cars in Europe, so they are very popular in Europe.
But who knew that the cars they regarded as clean energy vehicles would actually have fake emissions. The exhaust emission standards were forty times higher than the calibration standards. Such cheating is simply crazy.
And now that the facts are clear, the United States has also announced the public's cheating method for the first time. Cheating through software.
The exhaust scandal, coupled with the previous noisy China Rights Protection scandal, has made the public completely lively this time.
After the United States made the announcement, other countries around the world also urgently launched investigations. Especially in Europe, because there are so many models suspected of violating regulations in Europe.
This incident soon spread back to China. Domestic netizens were happy to see this incident.
"I'll go, the public is too daring to play..."
"It turns out that the public not only dares to cheat us in China, but also the Americans..."
"Hahaha, even the local people dare to cheat..."
"Is this what is called the German spirit?"
"This is the sacred vehicle of your faith..."
"Damn it, if someone cheats on exhaust gas, they will be fined tens of billions of dollars. Ours has broken its axle and killed people, and we still haven't been fined..."
"They are responsible for consumers, we are responsible for the public..."
"Sit back and wait for the results..."
"Exhaust gas only pollutes the air, but our broken axle is life-threatening..."
"Damn it, if this broken axis door appears in the United States, the United States can punish Volkswagen until it goes bankrupt..."
"Just wait, it will definitely be settled in the end, we are all used to it..."
Netizens started making a fuss, and the public opinion became even bigger. These public opinions spread online, and the relevant state departments naturally paid attention to it.
A meeting of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine is being held. Such meetings have been held these days. Everyone has different opinions on the processing results.
Now, in the face of pressure, their final solution has finally taken shape. Seeing this solution, some people couldn't help but swallow their saliva.
The handling of opinions this time was considered as killing the chicken to scare the monkeys. The public became the chicken, and the killing was a bit ruthless this time.
"Notice on the handling of the broken axle defect of the Volkswagen Sagitar. After detailed inspection by the national quality supervision department, it was determined that the suspension problem of the 2012, 2013, and 2014 Volkswagen Sagitar was a design defect, and Volkswagen was ordered to recall the problematic vehicles from now until June 1, and
Consumers will be punished with refunds of one and three penalties. If the situation is not handled as scheduled, the approval of the certificate of compliance for Volkswagen Group's vehicles will be suspended..."
A notice came out. After this notice came out, all Chinese netizens' eyes widened, and the major car companies that were paying attention to this matter were all confused.
Especially the public, they never expected that the country would be so cruel this time.
It will be dealt with directly as fake goods, with one refund and three penalties, and a set date. If the specified date is not met, the certificate will be stopped.
The suspension of issuance of certificates means that all Volkswagen models can no longer be sold on the market.
"mighty……"
"Finally the long awaited arrival..."
"So handsome..."
"Okay, that's how it should be..."
"There must be fines, which will make them bleed..."
"And where's the CRV's engine throttle?"
"Just wait for Honda..."
"The country is mighty..."
This punishment was unexpected by anyone. But now it is so fast and so violent.
"Like and support heavy fines. Only in this way can companies take it seriously. If Longteng makes this kind of mistake in the future, please don't show mercy..."
Zhang Fan immediately liked it and expressed his views.
"Brother Fan is well done..."
"Support Brother Fan..."
"Brother Fan is the first entrepreneur and the first artist to speak out. I give Brother Fan a thumbs up..."
"Brother Fan feels wronged, so I'm going to raise the red flag today..."
"I originally wanted to buy a Mercedes-Benz E, but today I bought a Tesla for Brother Fan..."
"I have placed an elf order. I miss my elf in my dreams..."
The whole country was in an uproar. No one expected that the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine would come so violently and cleanly this time.
This time, Volkswagen was in trouble. You must know that the sales volume of the Sagitar was very good back then. This time, it was a vehicle that was short of money, and a total of 360,000 vehicles were sold.
The price of the Sagitar is not cheap. Although this car is a compact car, its price reaches the price of a mid-level car.
Even if each car costs 130,000 yuan, Volkswagen now has to pay 520,000 yuan to consumers for each car. This time Volkswagen has lost at least 67.6 billion yuan.
What's more, there are many high-end models, so Volkswagen will lose at least 70 billion yuan this time.
This is definitely the most severe car compensation in Chinese history. This penalty will undoubtedly add fuel to the fire for Volkswagen.
As soon as the penalty notice came out, Volkswagen's stock price began to plummet. Not only Volkswagen was bleeding, but FAW was bleeding as well. You must know that the Sagitar is a FAW model.
With so many penalties, FAW actually paid the most money in the end. For this state-owned enterprise, this amount of money can be equivalent to several years of profits.
The penalty imposed on Volkswagen is equivalent to a huge alarm bell. All major car companies immediately held emergency meetings. After all, Volkswagen is not the only model that is defending rights this time, there are other models that are defending rights. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has not issued any orders to them.
The punishment is to give them time. If they still don't act, the public will be their example.