Inside Jobs: 2 Cases of Breaking the Law in the Automotive Industry
WORDS BY ANTONINA JOSON
Crime in the automotive industry doesn’ t often look like a Fast and Furious movie. In fact, the biggest crimes have gone unnoticed and were rarely instigated by external factors. Sometimes, the worst ideas aren’ t obvious, and they are pushed into fruition when individuals are blinded by greed.
In this article, we’ re looking at two infamous cases of law-breaking within the automotive industry and how they impacted society at large. The consequences of these examples can’ t just be contained to physical safety- financial and society’ s environmental safety were put at risk too. Remember, safety’ s not just about what’ s on the road, it’ s also about what goes on in the office.
Dieselgate
Also known as the Volkswagen emissions scandal or Emissionsgate, Dieselgate refers to Volkswagen Group’ s violation of the USA’ s Clean Air Act( CAA). The CAA is said to be one of the US’“ most influential modern environmental laws” since its implementation in 1963.
STRATEGY 2018
In an aggressive approach to increase annual vehicle sales, Volkswagen and its newly minted CEO Martin Winterkorn initiated“ Strategy 2018.” A driving factor of this initiative was to double diesel vehicle sales in the US, thus, the automaker debuted a“ high fuel economy” type of technology in their cars. Supposedly, this technology was environmentally friendly, overpromising the performance and impact of diesel vehicles to unknowing customers.
A real-world emissions test conducted by the West Virginia University Center for Alternative Fuels Engines and Emissions( WVU CAFEE) found two Volkswagen vehicles emitting Nitrogen Oxide( NOX) 40 times more than what the CAA allows.
Further investigation found that Volkswagen installed“ defeat devices” in their vehicles. These defeat devices were able to detect when emissions tests were being conducted and would intentionally alter the car’ s performance to achieve a certain result. According to the EPA, it could detect a test by observing a vehicle’ s speed, engine operation, air pressure, and steering wheel position.
In addition to the defeat devices, the EPA alleged that Volkswagen installed modified software on 10,000 units of Porsche, Audi, and VW diesel models. After discovering these findings, the EPA issued the automaker a Notice of Violation that covered models released from 2009 to 2015.
Volkswagen eventually admitted to cheating
46 ISSUE 54 AUGUST 2025 / WWW. AFMA. ORG. AU