VW have had a *bad* few days. They just had to admit that 11 million cars contain software used to cheat on emissions tests, and their Chief Executive has had to resign as a result. The damage to their finances from regulatory fines will be huge, the damage to their reputation potentially irreparable.
VW face fines, the cost of refitting every car, and, in all likelihood, criminal proceedings to boot after it installed cars with a “Defeat Device”, used to fool regulators into thinking that the cars are far more environmentally friendly than they actually are.
You only have to take a quick glance to see the drastic change in VW’s fortunes online in Spain. Until the 21st September VW barely features in online conversations. On the 23rd September it featured in more than 17,000 conversations, almost 10,000 of which mentioned it in a negative light.
From the 21st to the 24th, 48% of mentions of VW have been identified as negative by Websays, whilst just 1% refer to it in a positive manner.
A quick look at what words are being used to describe VW show that it clearly is the emission scandal that’s causing people to talk. The most prominent term is “escandalo” or “scandal” in English, whilst the third is “emisiones”, obviously “emissions”.
Will VW’s reputation recover?