A working group has been set up to report on the Volkswagen emissions scandal. Portugal's Minister for the Economy, António Pires de Lima, has until November 2nd to report the group's findings to government.
The group will look at the Volkswagen crisis as it affects Portugal in terms of the environment, tax, consumer rights and safeguarding the interests of the State.
The government wants to know what it needs to do, if anything, in the aftermath of VW admitting many of its diesel engines had been fitted with software that enable CO2 tests to be fiddled.
An estimated 11 million vehicles worldwide will have to be recalled and the illegal software removed.
In Portugal the estimate is that 94,000 Volkswagens and 23,000 Seats will need to be recalled.
Volkswagen today announced that it is to slash €1 billion a year from its investment budget, stating that efficiency and technology would be the company's watchwords as it "repositioned itself for the future” by focussing on hybrid and electric vehicles.
Whether this investment cut will affect the €600 million planned for the Volkswagen owned Autoeuropa plant in Palmela to the south of Lisbon remains to be made clear with VW management due to make a statement later this week.
In April last year Pires de Lima said of the planned Palmela investment to double output, that it “represents a very important signal of recovery in the long-term industrial investment and determinant to economic recovery.”
The modern plant produces the Volkswagen Sharan, Eos, Scirocco and SEAT Alhambra.
VW already has set aside €6.5 billion to cover the worldwide costs of the emissions scandal but this may not be enough as the company faces potentially huge fines, class action lawsuits and criminal penalties in the US and other countries.
Shares in the company have fallen 20% since the scandal broke.
Comments
Yet now apparently that was not so. It never was so. A factory renovation is at risk. Many jobs may be lost. Absolutely none of this is within the Portuguese Governments control - until after others - foreigners no less - have made their decision.