Volkswagen Emissions Scandal Impacts Salespeople

Back in 2015, it was discovered that Volkswagen had cheated diesel emissions testing in thousands of vehicles. Their emission levels were actually very high, in violation of the Clean Air Act. This violation had consequences not only for the environment and the company, but also for the company’s salespeople.

After the major Volkswagen emissions scandal broke, leading to a substantial recall and a drop in vehicle value, VW salespeople found that their sales commissions were seriously impacted.

Since the Volkswagen emissions scandal, both the demand and the value of Volkswagen vehicles has dropped. This, in turn, has led to a decrease in VW sales commissions for the company’s sales representatives.

Volkswagen Emissions Scandal Background

The Environmental Protection Agency sent a notice to Volkswagen back in September 2015 after discovering that almost half a million VW diesel vehicles sold in the U.S. were emitting toxic fumes in far greater amounts than allowed by regulations under the Clean Air Act—in fact, up to 40 times higher.

In the following months, Volkswagen admitted that the number of vehicles affected was far greater. According to Volkswagen, more than 11 million total diesel VW cars have been affected by the Volkswagen emissions scandal.

So how exactly did this happen? The affected VW vehicles included a “defeat device” in the engine software meant to trick cars into emitting low diesel emissions under test conditions and extremely high emissions in regular driving conditions. This allowed regulators to think that the vehicles complied with the Clean Air Act’s emissions standards, but in truth they were emitting a huge amount of extremely harmful pollutants.

Volkswagen’s stock values have taken a drastic hit since this discovery, and resale values of these cars have dropped dramatically. This, in turn, has taken a toll on VW employees and their auto sales commissions.

Effect on VW Sales Commissions

After the Volkswagen emissions scandal initially broke, Volkswagen halted the sales of its diesel vehicles. There was also a subsequent drop in the sales of all VW vehicles.

According to Forbes in November 2015, VW sales were down 4.7 percent compared to the previous year. Then, in July 2016, Bloomberg reported that VW sales in the U.S. had fallen a whopping 22 percent. While this certainly had a drastic effect on the company, it also had a more serious impact on individual sales reps who are paid on commission.

Joining a VW Sales Commissions Lawsuit

VW sales commissions have taken a drastic hit since the emissions scandal first came to light. Volkswagen was hit with a class action lawsuit just this last March alleging that sales reps were harmed by the Volkswagen emissions scandal.

If you worked as a Volkswagen car salesperson earning sales commissions when the Volkswagen emissions scandal broke and saw a significant drop in your income, you may be able to join a Volkswagen class action investigation.

Join a Free Volkswagen Sales Commissions Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you worked as a Volkswagen sales representative when the VW dieselgate scandal broke and you saw a drop in your commissioned sales, you may qualify to join this VW sales representative class action lawsuit investigation.

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