Six months on: VW's state post-Dieselgate

Even then, the story is far from over. A VW Group-appointed investigation can never be considered conclusive, and while it may shed more light on some of the more hard-to-believe claims made so far, chiefly that the cheat was the work of a tiny number of rogue engineers, there’s no doubt that higher-level legal actions around the world will seek to uncover more. Not even the well-oiled machine of one of the world’s largest companies, backed no doubt by numerous well-paid crisis advisors, will be able to stem the tide when the US legal system swings into action. My only hope is that they seek to find answers as ardently as they appear to be trying to break records for corporate fines.

Under these circumstances, it seems hopelessly optimistic to talk of the future, although, unlike some, I do believe the VW Group has one. On that, perhaps I’m naïve, because so much depends on the size of the penalties, and only a fool would try to predict just how far they will stack up. But my assertion is driven by a fundamental belief in the quality of the products that the firm makes, and the fact, proven time and again, that the majority of customers will ultimately vote with their wallets.

Car buyers care more about their wallet

In my experience, car buyers are shrewd and more focused on their pockets than the environment. They will recognise that the vast majority of issues swirling around the VW Group - although not all - are related to an off-sale diesel engine. They are shrewd enough to separate the moral bankruptcy of a company prepared to cheat emissions tests from one that has invested more in R&D in recent years than any other company on the planet, in the pursuit of building better cars.

They will scrutinise rivals and come to the same conclusion as our testers, that in many cases VW Group products are the best in class across a huge range of facets, including emissions in some cases. Most likely, too, the VW Group will maintain its rollout of incentives to retain loyal customers and tempt new ones. The sales recovery will be slow and painful, but it will come - as evidenced by the wobbly but not disastrous figures since the scandal broke so far.

Six months on from the scandal breaking, the VW Group has many more questions to answer than ever appeared possible. It’s battle-weary staff must brace for more and come up with far more plausible answers than they have done thus far. Quite rightly, there will be no respite in the public criticism and humiliation for some time.