Volkswagen CEO Mller Says Buybacks 'Possible,' In Theory

Chris Tonn
by Chris Tonn

Volkswagen CEO Matthias Müller apologized again to dealers and customers for the ongoing diesel scandal in a statement to CNBC’s Phil LeBeau. When pressed, he also admitted that buybacks are possible.

“This is a difficult situation because we have similar generations of engines … [but] the technical situations are all so different,” said Müller. “In some cases, it’s very easy to repair the cars. In other cases, it’s very expensive … and in that case we have to negotiate whether it would be better to bring the cars back to Volkswagen.”

See full interview below:

Chris Tonn
Chris Tonn

Some enthusiasts say they were born with gasoline in their veins. Chris Tonn, on the other hand, had rust flakes in his eyes nearly since birth. Living in salty Ohio and being hopelessly addicted to vintage British and Japanese steel will do that to you. His work has appeared in eBay Motors, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars, Reader's Digest, AutoGuide, Family Handyman, and Jalopnik. He is a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association, and he's currently looking for the safety glasses he just set down somewhere.

More by Chris Tonn

Comments
Join the conversation
16 of 49 comments
  • Northeaster Northeaster on Jan 12, 2016

    Four months of bad press into a crisis of VW's making, Herr Muller has provided the clearest possible evidence that rewarding publicly dishonest dirt balls who still don't get it after months is not really how I should be spending my next $50k or so.

    • See 3 previous
    • RideHeight RideHeight on Jan 13, 2016

      @SCE to AUX "He could play the penitent Japanese CEO and make things right." Now, that's interesting. Because offsetting Toyota's admirably proactive handling of its recent brouhaha one immediately recalls Takata, Tepco/Fukushima and All Nippon Airways/Lockheed as counterexamples of Japanese moral porosity and PR death-wish. And there are others too buried in the past and my long term memory to be quickly dredged up at this hour. Can you recall any instances of Japanese corporate adroitness besides Toyota?

  • DenverMike DenverMike on Jan 12, 2016

    When you add up their total potential exposure, VW has to be seriously considering cutting bait and pulling out of the US, leaving everyone that'll be holding their hands out, including the Feds, California and dealers, high and dry. If it wasn't for Mexico, VW would've jumped ship decades ago.

    • See 3 previous
    • RobertRyan RobertRyan on Jan 12, 2016

      Leaving many unemployed in the Southern US

  • Hybridkiller Hybridkiller on Jan 12, 2016

    Headline fatigue (as expected) has pretty much fully set in at this point. Yes, every new development in this story is still reported in the major media outlets, but with the exception of CARB-state resident TDI owners, VWAG shareholders, and people on certain (*cough*) auto enthusiast websites, nobody else cares any more. VW is still selling gassers in the US at a decent clip (Tiguan had record sales for 2015, and December was its best month on record). VW will bungle their way through this, throw a big pile of money at the EPA, a much smaller pile at current owners, and move on. People who continue to predict a complete withdrawal from the US market alas are going to be sorely disappointed.

    • See 3 previous
    • RobertRyan RobertRyan on Jan 13, 2016

      @mopar4wd Yes, defining it better, the VW Corporation will keep growing outside the US. They in Australia, are now selling more Audi's than before. Old Motto: Any news is better than none

  • Jthorner Jthorner on Jan 13, 2016

    He looks like the East German villain in a 1970s James Bond movie!

Next