Germany recalls 100,000 Opel cars in diesel scandal investigation
Just hours after the Opel headquarters was raided by German authorities, Germany’s Transport Ministry has issued a recall of almost 100,000 of Opel cars on Monday.
The German Government suspects that some of its diesel-engine cars were equipped with software designed to manipulate emissions.
Opel Germany has acknowledged that public prosecutors from Frankfurt raided and searched their headquarters which is located in Ruesselsheim, near the Frankfurt airport. The company said that they are “fully cooperating with the authorities”.
Prosecutors also searched its factory in Kaiserslautern, in southwest Germany but Opel said they could not comment any further on the details of the investigation but reaffirmed that its vehicles comply with the applicable regulations.
The German Transport Ministry said in a statement that the illegal “defeat device” software was discovered earlier this year. Models being recalled across Europe are, the Cascada, Insignia and Zafira.
Since the Volkswagen diesel scandal broke three years ago, the other big German car manufacturers including Daimler have been forced to recall cars.
Opel, which was purchased by French carmaker PSA last year, from General Motors, for €1.3 billion, has admitted in previous statements that its engine control units were programmed to shut off at certain temperatures, but it said such practices were fully compliant with the law.
The initial scandal resulted from Volkswagen’s manipulation of diesel emissions by fitting devices to its vehicles to cheat US emissions tests. The scandal has cost the Volkswagen Group billions, and in the latest twist, there are reports from Germany that the car giant may have to consider listing its sports car producer Porsche on the stock market.
The prestigious supercar brand could be worth up to €70 billion as a separately listed company, its chief financial officer Lutz Meschke has said. Ferrari and Aston Martin have benefited from listing on the stock markets and if Porsche do the same thing, it could make itself more attractive.
“Every company needs to think about whether it makes sense to create competitive divisions,”
Porsche did not explain how it came to its valuation of between €60 billion and €70 billion, but a spokeswoman for Porsche said on Monday that the company is not currently pursuing plans for a listing. Parent company Volkswagen also said there were no plans to list the Stuttgart-based maker of the famous 911 sports car.
Analysts at Evercore ISI said a separate listing or spin out of Porsche is one of the most obvious ways for Volkswagen to unlock value.
“We believe VW’s wholly owned Porsche could conservatively be worth an incremental €27-€49 billion to VW shareholders,”
Author
Justin Kavanagh
Justin Kavanagh is a recognised leader
in automotive intelligence and vehicle
data supply to the entire motor industry.
He has almost 20 years experience in
building systems from the ground up.
As the Managing Director of Vehicle
Management System, he understands the
need and importance of trustworthy and
reliable vehicle history and advice to
both the trade and the public.
Follow me on LinkedIn