Over the last year, Volkswagen stock prices have plummeted due to the company's recent emissions scandal. Volkswagen has been fined billions of dollars for using softwares in their cars that do properly control the emissions being released by the car, leading to many cars emitting higher emissions than what is allowed by most laws (Reuters, 2016). It is believed that over 11 million vehicles have been affected by this insufficient software (Reuters, 2016).
Investors who played no part in this fraud are furious and are demanding back the money they lost. On September 18 alone, 750 lawsuits were filed in the courts in Braunshcweig, just outside of Volkswagens Wolfsburg headquarters, with over a thousand more being filed in the days after (Reuters, 2016). So far damage claims have reached $8.2 billion from investors with that number expected to climb even higher (Reuters, 2016).
As of right now, Volkswagen has set aside $18 billion in order to pay off fines and to retro fit the cars they failed to test correctly (Reuters, 2016). Many businessmen believe that this amount will not be enough to do the job, which could lead to even lower stock prices for Volkswagen.
Reuters in Berlin (2016). VW investors seek €8.2bn in damages over emissions scandal. The
Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/sep/21/vw-volkswagen-investors-
damages-emissions-scandal-germany
An interesting post on Volkswagen and their monetary issues! JM
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