The crossroads where Volkswagen took a wrong turn — to save costs
Frankfurt — Volkswagen may have stayed clear of its diesel-cheating crisis had it not pulled out of a promising deal with Daimler more than a decade ago. Led by former CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder, VW examined strategic options for tie-ups and co-operation projects in 2005, when the company was undergoing painful restructuring. Talks on a possible deal with its German rival could have led to it accessing to Daimler’s diesel technology and included cross-shareholdings of about 10%, say insiders. But Volkswagen abruptly called off talks that year, and forged on with its own diesel systems which proved incapable of meeting strict US emissions standards. Faced with an aggressive management push to finally achieve a turnaround in the US, the maker of Golf and Jetta cars resorted to secretly rigging its engines until regulators blew the scheme in late 2015, hammering the German manufacturer with about €20.5bn in clean-up costs and leaving its reputation in tatters. Volkswagen cancelled talks ...
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