Off the wire
• Spanish stock market rises 0.08 pct, closes at 10,473 points  • IFM downgrades Rwanda's 2016 growth prospects to 6 pct  • NASA to recruit astronauts for Mars trip preparation  • Bahrain arrests 47 terror suspects, says backed by Iran  • Jordan rejects any change to status quo in Al Aqsa Mosque  • Belarus to redominate currency in 2016  • 1st LD: Suspect shot dead after wounding 5 in stabbing spree on UC campus  • BiH, Serbia vow to enhance cooperation in joint gov't session  • Ukraine threatens to halt weapon withdrawal over alleged provocations  • Urgent: Suspect shot dead after wounding 5 in stabbing spree on UC campus  
You are here: 　 Home

Volkswagen crisis not to affect Spain's industry: car manufacturer

Xinhua, November 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

The ongoing Volkswagen crisis will not affect Spain's industry, Jose Luis Lopez-Schummer, president of the Association of Car Manufacturers (ANFAC) told reporters on Wednesday.

Lopez-Schummer was attending the 30th IESE Auto, the meeting of the automotive industry being held at the IESE business school in Barcelona.

This year meeting was marked by the Volkswagen crisis.

The new president of Seat, Luca de Meo, the Spanish brand of Volkswagen group that had admitted having manufactured 700,000 cars with the software that allowed Volkswagen to cheat U.S. emissions tests, would attend the meeting.

However, he cancelled his talks due to important meetings related to the news appearing on Tuesday that said an internal investigation by the company into diesel emissions had revealed that CO2 emissions and fuel consumption were understated during standards tests. This would also affect Seat, but it is not known to what extent.

"This is a concrete topic of a manufacturer that I am sure they are going to solve," Lopez-Schummer told reporters when asked about the scandal.

"It is a great brand, I have no doubt they will solve it properly, also with their clients," he said.

Lopez-Schummer believes neither Spain's industry nor European industry will be affected "because we are speaking about the demand of vehicles", he assured, explaining that he did not know anybody who would not buy a car because of a concrete issue with one of the manufacturers taking into account the freedom vehicles give us.

Asked about whether other scandals could appear in other companies, he said "I am almost sure they will not, but I do not know", adding that "my feeling is that there will not be other manufacturer with a similar situation and also, in the case of Volkswagen I am convinced they will solve it properly".

The meeting started on Wednesday and will finish on Thursday. The two-day event gathers important figures of the automotive industry, such as leading CEOs of brands and other representatives of the industry. Endit