VW CEO stuns competitors by putting diesel tax privilege into question
VW head Michael Müller has caused a stir among industry representatives by saying diesel cars should lose their tax privilege in Germany, Martin Murphy writes in Handelsblatt. “Why does he let this genie out of its bottle?” a manager of a German VW competitor said, Murphy writes. The CEO of Germany’s largest carmaker is the first of the industry’s top managers to openly call the tax breaks for diesel cars into question. “He will be aware of the consequences,” Murphy writes, arguing that an end to the diesel tax privileges will lead to a further decline in diesel sales. The share of diesel cars has plummeted in recent months, not least because car buyers fear that a looming driving ban for the vehicles could mean they are no longer allowed to enter many German cities as early as 2018, Murphy writes. Managers of VW competitors Daimler and BMW have repeatedly stated they consider diesel engines to be part of their future strategy as they are less CO2-intense than petrol engines.
Read the article in German here (behind paywall).