CHEAT TEST SCANDAL
Volkswagen boosts sales despite ‘dieselgate’ and as FBI arrests boss
Scandal-hit German car manufacturer increases sales in 2016, despite strong headwinds
Frankfurt — Scandal-hit German car manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) said on Monday it increased sales in 2016, despite strong headwinds after it had admitted to cheating on regulatory emissions tests for millions of vehicles. VW said it had delivered 5.99-million vehicles last year, up 2.8% over 2015. While sales in the Americas and western Europe fell sharply, the German manufacturer had made inroads in Asia, especially China, it said. Under pressure from US authorities, VW admitted in September 2015 to installing "defeat devices" — designed to reduce cars’ emissions of harmful nitrogen oxide when the software detected they were undergoing regulatory tests — in 11-million vehicles worldwide. The scandal, quickly dubbed "dieselgate" by global media, tarnished VW’s reputation and sapped sales. In the latest damaging development, The New York Times on Monday said FBI agents had arrested Oliver Schmidt, an executive who led VW’s regulatory compliance office in 2014-15, on conspiracy charge...
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