Volkswagen Won't Even Look at Its First-Quarter Earnings

Nope. Nuh-uh. Not gonna do it.

That was Volkswagen’s reaction to the idea of publishing its first-quarter results on time, according to Automotive News Europe, meaning the automaker’s current financial standing will be unknown until May 31.

The beleaguered company has bigger things to deal with in the near term — mainly, meeting the U.S. government’s April 21 deadline for a fix for vehicles caught up in the diesel emissions scandal. An April 21 deadline was issued last month by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, extending a missed deadline on a one-time-only basis.

Volkswagen will have to present a comprehensive plan for the 580,000 U.S. diesel models that satisfies the regulatory requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board. That could include a full fix, a partial fix, a buyback program, environmental offsets, or a all of the above.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy wasn’t sure if Volkswagen would meet the deadline, given the complexity of the request. Talks have continued between the automaker and the regulators since then.

So great is the turmoil at Volkswagen, that the company still hasn’t released its 2015 earnings report. That document, which is expected to be grimmer than spending Christmas in a foreign jail, is scheduled to be released on April 28.

It all adds up to a “month of decisions” for the automaker, Metzler Bank analyst Juergen Pieper told Automotive News.

“There is a chance that this gigantic tanker after wandering aimlessly without radar finally manages to shift course,” said Pieper, apparently unaware of his heavily polluting, fuel-soaked metaphor.

Should the April 21 deadline come and go with no plan for a fix, it’s very likely that Volkswagen will be hauled into court over the summer.

In addition to the criminal investigations, lawsuits, ornery dealers and potential fines totaling in the tens of billions of dollars, Volkswagen also needs to turn around a severe sales slump. Tomorrow’s another day, and all that.