The 2015 Volkswagen emissions scandal : the perspective of the agent and customers in Malta

Abstract

The Volkswagen emissions scandal of 2015 shocked the world and directly influenced both the automotive industry and the governing authorities. It is one of the most famous cases of greenwashing and misleading marketing in recent years. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effects of this scandal on the Maltese consumer and market. In order to gather data, a survey was conducted via Google Forms and passed around to multiple people. This data mainly relied on a mixture of qualitative and quantitative data with the main demographics being Generation Z, Millennials and Generation X. Data from the local Volkswagen importer, Mizzi Motors, was also collected to examine the difference in the number of sales in the immediate years following the scandal. The results collected show that the Maltese population were impacted by the scandal as Mizzi Motors reported a sharp decrease in sales in 2016. However, a large number of the participants care more about other factors apart from the cleanliness of the emissions, such as price, reliability and cost of the vehicle. Therefore, a majority of the participants stated that they would indeed purchase another Volkswagen again. The reason being that, according to the participants, and by extension the Maltese populace, the Volkswagen brand is synonymous with reliability and excellent value for money vehicles.