Volkswagen has a tough road ahead to restore consumer trust

In the many years I’ve been involved with the car industry I have come across many scandals and cover-ups involving auto-makers involving many aspects of their business, but I have never seen anything like the frenzy which has engulfed Volkswagen in the past fortnight.

I have seen all sorts: the recent General Motors steering lock scandal which caused the company to compensate some 124 families for related deaths, forced a 30million vehicle recall and cost it nearly $1bn in fines; the A-Class ‘Elk test’ scandal which forced Mercedes to practically rebuild the car; the Ford Pinto fireball scandal which caused hundreds of deaths and zillions in class actions; to the tragi-comical Lancia ‘rust’ scandal of the early eighties which saw the company secretly buying cars back to try and hide problems with unstoppable corrosion.

Volkswagen says around 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide -- including more than 110,000 vehicles in Ireland -- will need to go back to garages for a “refit” in the coming year.