What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 471 Industry Disaster
The Volkswagen emissions scandal has shocked the world.

The ten minutes before its temporary suspension of trading have been dubbed the "black ten minutes" because although Volkswagen temporarily stopped the bleeding, it had already dragged down the stock prices of its peers, and the entire industry's market value had evaporated by at least $300 billion.

And this is only in such a short time...

If Volkswagen is indeed found to have committed fraud, the losses to the entire industry will be incalculable, and the development of diesel vehicles themselves may even be rewritten.

From Germany to the United States to Japan to China, Guo Shanfeng's report caused a sensation throughout the industry, generating a public outcry far exceeding that of the Renault incident.

Yu Xing's meeting in Lingang could not proceed.

He could only hastily ask everyone to learn from the "Volkswagen emissions cheating" incident, to make the Silicon Carbon Group honestly manufacture cars, and then he adjourned the meeting, leaving his shocked and curious colleagues to gossip on their own.

Of course, he himself was also very eager to see how things progressed.

Volkswagen's decision to apply for a temporary suspension of trading was somewhat unexpected, given the Renault incident... But on second thought, perhaps it was precisely because they dealt with Renault first that the unusually quiet Volkswagen had been planning for this day.

"Mr. Yu, this short-selling firm is amazing. It's just a practice run for Renault." Hu Zhengnan was the last to leave. As he packed up his documents, he was amazed by the sudden situation and had the same thought that everyone had: "If automakers like Renault and Volkswagen have problems with diesel vehicle emissions, other automakers probably have similar issues to some extent."

Upon hearing this, Yu Xing felt that Xiao Ying's ambitious "third battle" was unlikely to erupt. Industry insiders could hardly ignore such details, which meant that everyone would quickly notice this point.

He was just about to offer a humble response on behalf of Guo Shanfeng when he saw a call from Li Song on his phone.

Yu Xing waved to Hu Zhengnan, signaling him to go back first, before answering the phone.

"Mr. Yu, Volkswagen has falsified emissions data!!" Li Song's exclamation came through the phone.

Yu Xing patiently said, "Mr. Li, tell me something I don't know."

"Uh, sigh, this..." Li Song showed his shock, followed by a heavy sigh, "Damn!"

Yu Xing understood what the other party meant.

"My car hasn't even arrived yet, and Volkswagen has already been caught for emissions fraud. Damn, if my car had been found out, I'd be infamous overnight!" Li Song lamented. "I've already bought the car! Many Volkswagen models were on the list! It was such a close call!"

They were so close! "Real Research" was just one step away from becoming world-famous, making the first short-selling trade, and reaping huge profits!

Li Song felt his heart was being scratched unbearably.

Yu Xing comforted him, "Isn't it good? President Li, exposing the mountain peak can also promote environmental protection. It's alright, and it saves you the trouble."

Li Song: "..."

He found it difficult to describe his resentment to President Yu, even though he had previously brought up the matter in the name of environmental protection.

"Um, yes... yes, it's good, but... this is it... sigh." Li Song's tone was somewhat strained. He continued, "I've already bought the car, it's already on the ship that's coming. With this Volkswagen scandal, even if other car companies are falsifying data, they'll definitely be able to get tested faster than me. Damn, I'm so embarrassed. I've already paid, am I even going to get it tested or not..."

He was somewhat bewildered: "Maybe I'll just start testing here and other people's survey reports will come out. Mr. Yu, what do you think, should I still take the test?"

Yu Xing thought for a moment and said, "Let's continue testing. Aren't you an environmentalist?"

Li Song gave a vague "hmm".

Yu Xing continued, "You're lucky to have it."

Li Song asked helplessly, "Then where's my money?"

Yu Xing said honestly, "I can only lose your life."

Li Song felt even more upset.

He couldn't get any more advice from Mr. Yu, and since the unexpected event had already occurred, he ended the call. After thinking for a long time, he called the friend who had helped him and tentatively asked if he could return the car.

With a "Are you kidding me?" voice, Li Song ended the call, forced to painfully accept the fact that the car was bound to arrive.

After thinking it over, he called Xu Xin again to ask how to handle the matter.

Xu Xin was also following this globally shocking emissions fraud incident. When she received a call from her husband, although he didn't blame her, one sentence from him made Li Song's mentality explode.

She said, "You should go back to dating and matchmaking."

The finance PhD angrily hung up, only to silently lick his wounds amidst the overwhelming news coverage.

It's so painful, so incredibly painful!
Fortunately, the general public is probably still the one suffering the most.

Following its temporary suspension of trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Germany, Volkswagen quickly suspended trading on the US OTC market, the Zurich Stock Exchange in Switzerland, and the London Stock Exchange for the same reason.

Switzerland and London were relatively easy to deal with, but the United States responded with equally swift action.

Within half a day, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sent a letter to Volkswagen Group, demanding that it explain the much-criticized diesel emissions cheating. In addition to the SEC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is more relevant and of greater concern to Volkswagen, also demanded that Volkswagen explain the relevant situation.

Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has commissioned two third-party organizations to conduct independent tests on 14 Volkswagen models involved in emissions cheating.

Undoubtedly, its "14 items" are directly based on the short-selling report by Guoshanfeng.

Testing will take time, but the United States has demonstrated its clear stance on this incident.

Such a serious and far-reaching incident garnered a public response from the German leader just six hours later. Merkel directly supported the investigation launched by the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) against Volkswagen, but she also stated that she would not interfere with the judicial process.

Following investigations by the US EPA and the German KBA, the European Commission has announced it is considering launching an investigation into Volkswagen models sold throughout Europe.

No matter how you look at it, the public is unlikely to have an easy time getting away with this incident.

The following morning, amidst a deluge of news from regulators and the media, Volkswagen CEO Martin arrived at the company headquarters in his limousine, only to have the car stopped.

Martin, who had been lost in thought, then noticed that there were already many people demonstrating outside his company, and even signs saying "Volkswagen = Poison Gas" had appeared.

Despite having decided to resign and take responsibility, Martin's lips still trembled slightly as he watched this scene.

There were people blocking the front of the car, and environmentalists were banging on it outside the window. Media cameras were waiting nearby.

Martin hunched over in his seat, closing his eyes as he waited for the car to pull into the company.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt the whole car being shaken by the people outside. After a long while, the car, escorted by guards, finally made its way into headquarters.

Martin got out of the car, glanced back at the demonstration outside, then lowered his head and walked into the building.

Compared to the rehearsals before the ghost appeared, this high-level meeting was the most formal discussion, and there was also a press conference in the morning to take responsibility.

Martin rallied his spirits, stayed at his post, and spoke eloquently about the various problems the company would face.

Class action lawsuits, legal proceedings, interpretation of events, and vehicle disposal.

Martin felt that if Volkswagen had been the first company to short the mountain peak, he would probably have denied it like Renault. However, with Renault as a precedent, a technical denial wouldn't make much sense, so it would be better to take full responsibility and directly admit the mistake.

But even if we fully acknowledge our mistakes, there are still too many problems to deal with.

What about the diesel vehicle business? Should we continue it?
Will vehicles from different markets be repurchased uniformly, or will they be treated differently depending on the region's acceptance level?

How much funding does the group need to prepare to deal with fines and compensation?

As Martin listened to the questions that kept popping up, he actually cherished the anger and noise: "At least 100 billion euros in provisions, maybe not enough, but everyone should be prepared that we will need to work with suppliers to lobby the United States, Europe and Germany to try to reduce the size of the fines."

He sighed: "As for the rest, you can discuss it after I resign."

At this moment, Mueller, who had already been nominated to succeed as CEO, said, "Martin! So much money...too much..."

“When I arrived, I saw the news that Greenpeace was going to launch a transnational lawsuit in conjunction with the European Consumers Association. There will certainly be many similar lawsuits, but the most likely ones will be fines between us and the United States,” Martin said calmly. “I hope everyone can recognize this point: this money has to be returned.”

He pointed out a fact: "At least 1000 million vehicles with emissions problems have been sold globally. People, think about that number, don't be delusional, it already exceeds our global sales this year!"

Martin's voice was stern: "Do you think we're Renault?!"

There are no precise statistics on the sales volume of Renault's emission-related models, but it is estimated to be over 100 million units, while Volkswagen's is 10 times that.

The meeting room seemed to have suddenly died.

Martin remained silent for a while before bringing up an important issue: "I was in communication with Bosch yesterday, asking them to raise funds to share the compensation with us, but Denner refused my request."

Bosch is a globally renowned supplier, and Denner is the president of Bosch.

Martin was constantly contemplating the future while fearing that ghost, and Bosch was one of those involved.

Volkswagen did indeed falsify emissions data, but this falsification involved multiple parties, including Bosch, which directly participated in the process. Bosch not only provided the EDC-17 engine control unit but also had engineers involved in writing and testing the cheating software.

Volkswagen and Bosch have been partners for many years, sharing profits when they were in the business. Now that they are facing compensation, they have to bleed money.

Martin felt that Dennal had some preconceived notions after the incident occurred. His refusal might have been an attempt to negotiate with him, but he didn't have that much time, and neither did the public.

If he doesn't want to go out, then we have to force him to. Now is not the time to be polite.

Müller, who was about to take the helm of Volkswagen, quietly commented: "Denner should not have refused; it wasn't entirely our fault."

Martin nodded: "Yes, that's how it should be. What's done is done, and the emissions cheating is irreversible. There's no room for wishful thinking. What Volkswagen needs to do next is try to distance itself from the issue of moral responsibility. We still need to retain those consumers."

"We want to shift public perception from 'mass fraud' to 'technical misrepresentation' by suppliers. I will name Bosch's parts and technology suppliers at the press conference later."

Before anyone could react to his decision, Martin declared in a resounding voice: "We the masses are victims too!"

Volkswagen executives: "..."

No wonder Martin is a CEO; he certainly has the vision and ambition.

Martin looked around the conference room and finally said, "Is there anything else you need to discuss? I have to go to the press conference."

There's still so much to talk about, but we can't finish talking about it all in a short time, so it seems like we don't need to talk about it anymore.

There was no sound in the meeting room.

Müller stood up to see his old boss off.

Martin patted him on the shoulder and, after leaving the meeting room, indicated that he would attend the press conference himself, so that the next CEO would not have to bear the judgment of public opinion and morality.

This press conference, which came from the general public, also attracted worldwide attention.

The lightning strike over the mountain peak, regulatory follow-up, and public outcry have plunged the public into an emissions vortex in the past 24 hours. All of this requires a positive response from the parties involved.

As CEO, Martin's performance at this press conference was nothing short of perfect.

He apologized on behalf of the Volkswagen Group, unexpectedly admitting that the company's emergency internal investigation had preliminarily confirmed the existence of emissions fraud, and that Volkswagen would actively and without hesitation take responsibility for the incident.

Furthermore, Martin believes he bears unavoidable primary responsibility for this matter and will resign from all positions within the Volkswagen Group.

At this point in the press conference, the Volkswagen Group is no longer considered a "suspected" entity.

Volkswagen Group has pleaded guilty!
However, Martin then changed the subject, addressing an additional issue: "A large part of Volkswagen's mistake this time was due to over-reliance on its suppliers. Bosch claimed that they provided us with compliant technology, which directly led to our systemic errors."

"Bosch should not knowingly continue to cooperate despite technical problems. Volkswagen reserves the right to pursue legal action against Bosch."

"Undoubtedly, automakers and suppliers should conduct more compliance reviews in the future in order to bring more reliable products to consumers."

Martin's decision to become a "tainted witness" and proactively expose Bosch's presence in the incident caused a huge uproar at the press conference.

He didn't set up a Q&A session, and in the final moments facing numerous media outlets, that wandering ghost suddenly resurfaced in his mind.

Martin stood up and concluded, "I have the utmost respect for Guo Shanfeng, who pointed out Volkswagen's emissions problems."

He turned and left, stepping down as CEO of Volkswagen, completely ignoring the barrage of questions that followed.

Volkswagen has confessed! Bosch did it too!
Bosch, a global Tier 1 company, knowingly and deliberately encouraged Volkswagen to falsify emissions data!

As the president of Bosch, Denner was caught off guard by the media and heard such slander. His first reaction was to roar in anger, his face turning red: "Martin Winterkorn, you son of a bitch!"

(End of this chapter)