Volkswagen’s CEO Matthias Mueller was in Tennessee today and told workers there that it would take time to compensate for the company’s mistake. He was referring to the ‘Dieselgate’ scandal that involved manipulation of tested data in emissions tests. The discussion came just a day after meeting with Gina McCarthy, an administrator with the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), where Mueller reported discussed the changes that Volkswagen would take to properly get its vehicles into compliance with emissions regulations.
Mueller also shared that the next steps will not be discussed in public because of an agreement made with regulators on the matter.
The day before, EPA Director of Transportation and Air Quality Christopher Grundler said what the company proposed in terms of fixes fell short “in a lot of different areas”.
Software fixes apparently are not enough to remediate the situation and Volkswagen is looking at some significant changes to the reported 600,000 vehicles sold with the software in question. Reports say that one option is to implement a chemical treatment process that will cut down the pollution and the other option is to install bigger exhaust systems on all those vehicles.
Mueller highlighted a need to win back trust and repair credibility while recognizing the challenge ahead.
