The Volkswagen emissions scandal has broader implications than the potential damage it can do to Europe’s biggest carmaker. It’s the result of Europe backing the wrong emissions-reducing technology on a regulatory level. There is now an opportunity to reverse that error and force the continent’s сar manufacturers to concentrate on hybrid and electric vehicles. They’ve got the technology and resources to reshape the market.
The scandal is about VW’s bad business decision to cheat testing equipment so it could rush new engine models to market in the U.S. It is also about a failure of regulatory oversight and testing technology. Most of all, however, it’s about diesel engines: They were the ones performing so badly on the tests that VW engineers had to look for a workaround so marketers could trumpet the advent of “clean” diesel.