What an extraordinary turn of events from VW this morning, with new Group boss Matthias Müller announcing part-details of a global recall via a German newspaper. A less customer-orientated approach would be hard to imagine.
Global German businesses have long been accused of prioritising the home market above all else, and by giving that interview Müller has aptly demonstrated that he is content to follow that path, despite having promised sweeping changes when he took power two weeks ago.
Has he forgotten that this is a global recall problem, affecting 11m Audis, Seats, Skodas and VWs worldwide? He can't just talk to German customers - he should be talking to them all. For starters, what about the near 1.2m UK owners affected? That's around one in 30 cars on our roads, lest the scale of the problem passed you by, as it seemingly has Müller.
Nor should it be acceptable to drip-feed details of either the recall work or the knock-on effects of this crisis. This morning we learned that remedial work won't begin until January - but got no answers to the follow-up questions this information sparked. What will the fixes be? What will happen to anyone wanting to sell an affected car? How will dealerships cope when everyone tries to visit at once? Drip-feeding information is a dangerous game.
So is discussing cuts. There must be some pretty demotivated folk at Bugatti, for starters, and I can imagine numerous more VW staff working on projects that are now the subject of scrutiny feeling the same way.
Müller can't be silent, of course - we all want action and answers - but he must start putting all customers first, gain control of communications and start acting as if this is a global issue that has his full attention.
Read more on the Volkswagen emissions scandal:
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Autocar, bastion of consistency
Not only is that an absurd notion, it's factually inaccurate. The company assured owners that this would be sorted, days after the story broke, then they formalised this further on 29 September. Like most people, one thing Muller probably understands very clearly is that no VW product has broken down or crashed or adversely affected its owner in any way because of the NOx scandal. A government test has been cheated here not actual customers who, until a fortnight ago, had never heard of NOx and therefore did not care about it. So despite the media histrionics, the real-world ex-VW impact of this scandal is tiny. Even now, after the fact, not even the battiest, mob-handed Greens appear to be bothered about it; it's media propelling the story with the usual faux-indignance. Speaking of which, hasn't the tone of Autocar changed? From doling out fawning awards to VW big-wigs just months ago, to now alleging they're forgetful idiots.
Spin?
Cars, not owners, but...
Good point Adrian - not conscious spin, but it is nearly 1.2m cars as you say. As for addressing all owners, there are all sorts of ways - a letter on the company website, a video on YouTube... not an interview in German to a trusted newspaper.
I stopped hoping