What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 472 Everything is in chaos

The CEO of Volkswagen brought Bosch back into the spotlight by announcing his departure.

This shocked and angered President Dennal, who never expected the other party to be so...impatient!
He was completely unprepared to be questioned by the media face-to-face, so it was hard for him not to lose his composure and become furious. However, without proper internal discussion within the company, the more he said, the more mistakes he was likely to make.

When faced with the camera, Denner offered only one defense: "How to use parts is entirely up to the car company."

He then remained silent throughout, avoiding the media's pursuit.

Before the Bosch meeting, Denner angrily called Martin, who had been smearing him, and spent the first three minutes cursing Martin's family.

Martin's response was simple: "There's no way to avoid it. Do you think you can get away with it now? Volkswagen has given up on this mentality, and Bosch should too."

Automakers like Volkswagen and Tier 1 suppliers like Bosch have a cooperative relationship that involves sharing both good times and bad.

He felt that things were easier when they were enjoying the good times, but the other party clearly couldn't easily make up their mind to share the hardships, so he decided to give them a push.

After hearing Martin's words, Dennal continued to berate him for another three minutes.

Martin didn't hang up. He waited until Dennal caught his breath before calmly pointing out a problem: "Dennal, according to our contract, according to the quality assurance terms of Volkswagen and Bosch, and according to the technical compatibility guarantee, the software provided by Bosch has design flaws, and you must take responsibility for it."

This is the result of Volkswagen's legal department's efforts in a short period of time. Under the current circumstances, there is still room for legal maneuver regarding the interpretation of the contract terms.

Martin's mention of the right to sue at the press conference was not a joke; he genuinely intends to sue Bosch. Even if Denner is willing to share the burden, there will certainly be disagreements regarding the scale of the shared burden, and one or even several lawsuits are highly likely.

Denner had lost count of how many times he had lost his temper today.

Despite his extreme anger, he calmed down and questioned, "Martin, do you think you can make everyone believe me by throwing accusations of cheating and fraud on my head? Do you think people will believe that Bosch was the mastermind? Do you think that a supplier can make decisions for the world's number one automaker?"

“We clearly warned you during the development process that this posed compliance risks! You insisted on using it!”

"Do you think you can shirk responsibility with just a few words?! Do you think we don't have emails and work records on file?!"

As one of the technology developers, Bosch was certainly aware of the compliance issues and had discussed the risks internally. There were multiple procedural warnings, both external and internal, but ultimately, in order to maintain its cooperative relationship with Volkswagen, it did not take any substantial corrective measures.

Bosch was indeed involved, but he was by no means the leader as Martin claimed; he was merely an accomplice.

Martin remained silent for a moment. Of course, he wasn't naive enough to completely absolve himself of responsibility, but the market's focus shifting from the general public to the industry was itself a coping strategy.

He had no interest in arguing with Denner, and simply said, "Bosch has an undeniable responsibility, and that will not change because of our opinions. Ultimately, it depends on the rulings of the various regulatory bodies. My suggestion is that Bosch should form a lobbying team with Volkswagen as soon as possible to reduce penalties and compensation; that is the most realistic approach."

Denner completely rejected this suggestion, and then pointed out the problem with the contract: "Martin! Even if Bosch is liable, even if we have quality assurance clauses and technical compatibility guarantees, the contract still includes a liability cap clause!"

Martin said calmly, "According to Article 278 of the German Civil Code, suppliers are liable for unlimited liability for intentional or grossly negligent acts."

Unlike Martin, Dennal was not as well-prepared, and was immediately speechless upon hearing the specific legal clauses.

He paused for a moment before retorting, "Bosch provides general-purpose technology; the final decision rests with the car manufacturers!"

Martin gave a meaningful "Oh": "So it's a general-purpose technology. I wonder which other car companies besides Volkswagen use it? Renault, Volkswagen. From my personal perspective, the problem with diesel cars is an industry-wide issue."

He concluded by saying, "The board has accepted my resignation. As for the disagreements over the legal and contractual terms, you can speak with Muller. Best wishes to Bosch."

Before Dennal could speak, he heard a busy signal on his phone.

His face alternated between pale and flushed, and after the company's top executives arrived, he gave a difficult opening statement: "We are experiencing an industry earthquake, and Bosch may need to face a painful transformation." When the Renault incident broke out, Denner still harbored a glimmer of hope; from the beginning of the month until now, Renault had not revealed its use of Bosch software. However, Volkswagen ruthlessly shattered this hope, making Bosch a part of the crisis as well.

He now realizes the most acute reality: the gray areas of a century-old industrial system have been ruthlessly cut open the moment the mountain peak appears.

Denner even suspected that the list of those who had passed through the mountains might also include those with knowledge of the Bosch problem.

The only obstacle to the mountain operation was that the main body of the Bosch Group was not listed; only its affiliated subsidiaries were listed.

Not being listed on the stock exchange meant avoiding the pressures of the financial market and the stringent requirements of regulators. However, this still made it difficult for Bosch to accept the encouragement from former Volkswagen CEO Martin. Denner had already realized that Martin clearly wanted to drag his competitors down with him in order to divert market attention.

This colleague isn't limited to Bosch; he likely hopes Bosch will also drag others down with him.

The problem is that, as a T1 supplier and a technology provider, the more automakers that emerge, the more severe the penalties Bosch is likely to face, which is a different stance from Volkswagen's.

Moreover, since Volkswagen has turned its back on Bosch, Bosch is still a supplier and needs to consider future cooperation.

Dennal was filled with anger and conflict, and there were many things he couldn't say at the meeting.

After the high-level meeting concluded, he immediately convened a core meeting to discuss more practical issues.

“Let’s see how things develop first.” Senior Vice President Albert frowned and, after thinking for a long time, made a suggestion: “Martin believes that the disaster caused by the mountain peak is likely unstoppable. First Renault, then Volkswagen, everyone will think there’s something wrong with diesel cars. If more voices emerge, his idea of ​​forming a joint lobbying team may really be necessary.”

He lowered his voice and continued, "If things don't work out, we can also subtly urge our clients to step up and take on the challenge, building a larger lobbying team."

Slinging mud is despicable, but urging clients to embrace challenges is worth considering.

If we take into account the cooperative relationship between suppliers and customers, we could even use the name of Guoshanfeng to release similar messages.

Dennal remained silent.

After a long silence, he sighed, "Damn that mountain peak! What are the AMF doing?! Why can't they catch him? Oh well, let's just wait and see."

Let's wait and see. If it really doesn't work, we can just borrow the name of the mountain peak.

……

"Caught!"

Volkswagen's stock was temporarily suspended from trading. Germany's BaFin quickly contacted France's AMF, which had previously been investigating Peak Capital, and asked the EU's ESMA to take the lead in coordinating the cross-border investigation, forming a temporary team to target market manipulation.

The fact that Guoshanfeng shorted European listed companies twice within a month is so brazen and shows a complete disregard for regulation. This must be thoroughly investigated.

Such a rigorous investigation indeed produced immediate results.

Carlos from the French AMF heard his colleagues' excited voices and immediately went to see the latest results.

The masterminds behind two unusual transactions have been apprehended!
It points to... Martin, the former CEO of Volkswagen who just resigned...

Martin!?
Martin...

Fine, Martin it is. If I can't catch the mountain peak, I can catch you, Martin.
(End of this chapter)