Volkswagen Emission Scandal

Edanur Erdoğan

Volkswagen Scandal

Volkswagen scandal proved to the world that even though the company is on the lead, they have no problem with the profit, they might still ask for more. The nature of human is selfish is incapable of thinking other people most of the time, yet in today’s world it is important for us to create a sustainable nature in order to create a healthy environment for our children and us. Many people trusted VW with their cats and the protection promise of the nature yet VW failed to keep their promise and betrayed their customers.

Kant’s approach on the trust issue is extremely important on this issue. According to Kant; one should never manipulate or trick others for their selfish needs or desires, yet Volkswagen managed to do both in single crises. They also destroyed the unwritten trust between them and their customers since it is important for customers to know that their life is in safe hands with their car. Among most of the products, a car is one of the most connected objects with their owner, and kind of a reflection of the personality of the person who is driving the car. Since Volkswagen was aiming to be the car of the families, not the fastest, not the most comfortable but one of the most cosy and peaceful cars in the market, the trust of the company was one of the most important issues in the society. Their action was different than their company policy.

On the perspective of utilitarianism; VW maximized their economic profit and if the main aim was to achieve maximum profit, what VW did was clearly understandable. The aim of the company is to maximize their profit but even though during that view, they might not care about the trust, but there are some restrictions and laws they should abide to which are pretty much same from both perspectives.

The intent of Volkswagen was to increase their profit by saving around 350$ per car by removing a part which would decrease the emission of nitrogen while burning of the diesel fuel. Volkswagen tricked the entire planet, and broke the promise for the future generations. Their maxim was to accept that they have been guilty and minimize the criminal charges on them. It was an important issue for them to accept their mistake as soon as they got caught, but actually it is hard for the world to believe that VW was sorry for their mistakes.