Popular Auto Maker To Incur Losses As It Recalls 227,000 Cars That Should Never Have Left The Warehouse

One of the world’s most renowned automobile manufacturers may have made a boo-boo that is sure to work the wrong kind of wonders on its bottom lines.

Volkswagen (VW) has identified problems with two important safety fixtures, which is forcing the automakers to recall around 227,000 VW and Porsche cars from various parts of the world.

A local German newspaper reported on Thursday that Volkswagen and Porsche have discovered airbag and seatbelt pre-tensioner problems in the Tiguan, Sharan and CC models built in 2015, as well as Porsche 911, Boxter, Cayman and Panamera models from 2015 and 2016.

The report mentioned Germany’s KBA federal motor authority as saying the cars needed an update to the software of the airbag control units.

According to Volkswagen, as many as 227,000 VW and Porsche cars were affected. The automaker identified possible problems with airbags in some of them, while suggesting that that new software needed to be installed.

Germany’s Stuttgarter Zeitung also reported that Porsche has issued a statement saying around 23,500 Porsche models have problems with their airbags or seatbelt pre-tensioners, such that it could actually get triggered even if the vehicle was not involved in an accident.

Porsche said the models affected were built in 2015 and 2016, while adding that 3,900 of the vehicles affected are currently in Germany.

What Now?

As things stand, VW will certainly incur some losses in the recall process. But that’s small fry when laid side-by-side with the billions of dollars it would have to part with in settlements if something did go wrong and the company was found wanting.

And such a negative turn would surely come with another problem; eroded investor and customer confidence which could tank the company’s finances in the long run — not a good look for the company. Which is probably why it’s chosen to not leave anything to chance.

Volkswagen AG, known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Lower Saxony, Germany. It sells passenger cars under the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, SEAT, Škoda and other Volkswagen commercial vehicles. 

The company currently has various kinds of operations in approximately 150 countries, while operating 100 production facilities across 27 countries, including some African nations where its cars are quite popular.