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Business in Europe

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The first edition of EUobserver's Business in Europe magazine looks at business and industry in Europe.

CAR INDUSTRY DODGES

CAR INDUSTRY DODGES DIESELGATE, FOR NOW While Volkswagen reels from revelations that it cheated on diesel-emissions tests, the industry as a whole appears to be weathering the storm. The Skoda Museum in Mlada Boleslav is by far the most popular destination for tourists visiting the millennium-old Czech city, around 60 km north-east of the capital Prague. The colourful cars and Skoda paraphernalia give the visitor the feeling that the Czech car company, founded in 1895, is still a cause for national pride. Yet the Group for 16 years now. As could be expected from a museum about a positive – there is no mention of toxic pollutants, let alone cheating the emissions test system. But then again, the Volkswagen Group diesel scandal, which affected 1.1 million Skoda vehicles, seems to have had little effect on the Czech subsidiary. “So far we have not noticed serious negative effects on our business,” said spokesman Tomas Kubik in a because Skoda, along with other VW subsidiaries Audi and Seat, is not paying for the repairs. ed will be taken over by Volkswagen Group,” said Kubik. date. “The company achieved record sales, revenue, was up by 5.2 percent from the previous year. VOLKSWAGEN TAKES THE HIT FOR SKODA It seems as if Volkswagen has taken the hit for the reputational damage. At a press conference in April, Volkswagen Group boss Matthias Mueller said the scandal had had a “very painful” effect, ending 2015 with an operating loss of €4 billion. Mueller said that without dieselgate, results would have been comparable to the year before. But VW had to make provisions worth €16.2 billion to pay for cover lawsuits. It is unclear how many lawsuits Volkswagen will face, but shortly before this magazine went to print, as the Oil Fund. The fund, worth around €750 billion, holds around €700 million in VW shares. 14 — BUSINESS IN EUROPE JUNE 2016

Fund spokesman Thomas Sevang told EUobserver in an emailed statement that the fund intended to join a legal action against Volkswagen because the company “provided incorrect emissions data”. “We have been advised by our lawyers that the German law. As an investor it is our responsibility to Sevang. REPUTATIONAL DAMAGE “More than ever our most important currency is our credibility and the trust in our brand and our products and in Volkswagen itself,” said Mueller. “Regaining that trust will be the most important task over the next months. All else takes second place at this moment.” In 2015, consumers bought 15.1 percent fewer Volkswagen cars. By contrast, sales for Skoda were up by almost 12 percent. Some companies that evaluate brands for a living said after the scandal that Volkswagen could lose a third of its brand value, estimated at around €28 billion. But just a month after it was revealed VW had cheated, 91 percent of those polled by brand consultancy also manipulated emissions tests. And the more people believe cheating is omnipresent in the industry, in the same October 2015 poll, 65 percent said the company still built “excellent” cars. BUSINESS IN EUROPE JUNE 2016 — 15

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