The emissions scandal has significantly tarnished Volkswagen’s credibility in the United States and indeed across the globe. It’s going to have to work very hard to win back the trust of customers. The group is also negotiating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its emissions scandal and if a new report is to be believed, the EPA may have floated the idea of Volkswagen that it build electric cars in the United States.
The EPA and Volkswagen are negotiating to come up with a solution of the over half a million cars that have been implicated in the emissions scandal.
It was revealed last year that cheat devices were installed by the company on several models which allowed them to cheat emissions tests, in some cases, actual emissions were more than 40 times higher than the allowed limits. Volkswagen has already apologized for the misconduct.
Welt am Sonntag reports that a proposal floated by the EPA in these negotiations calls for Volkswagen to build electric cars at its planet in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The EPA has also apparently asked the company to build a nationwide electric car charging networks to support those EVs.
The report doesn’t make it clear if the EPA has asked the group to develop new electric cars or if it just wants existing models manufactured in the United States. Even if there’s an agreement and VW starts making electric cars in the U.S., that might not do much to improve the company’s damaged image, but at least, it might bring more jobs at the plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
No confirmation has come in yet from either Volkswagen or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding this proposal.