Emissions tests are designed to ensure that a production vehicle meets the required legally acceptable emission standards. Emissions tests can be carried out either on the road or in the laboratory. There are two scenarios that provide different results with field data presenting the downsides of lab testing. Recently, the Volkswagen car manufacturing company has been facing challenges associated with falsified emissions information. In a twist that could cost the company more than its actual sales, the reimbursement of disadvantaged car owners and settlement of lawsuits might reach predicted highs of eighty-seven billion Dollars. In addition to the direct financial loss, the company faces the challenge of losing customer confidence and a possible dwindling of sales. This development could mean the inclusion of more discounts for buyers as well as affected clients by the company. The effect of the scandal has already spread its reach not only to the company’s share prices but also to its requirement for liquid assets and its borrowing threshold (Petroff n.p).
In the presentation of product information to the customers, companies tend to acquire clients by presenting false information on the environmentally friendly nature of their products. This aspect of falsified marketing can be through misinforming the clients, and presenting irrelevant information on a product’s environmental impact. The companies do not give actual information on the product’s environmental hazards. In marketing, this situation is known as greenwashing, which is harmful to the customer and the environment.
Developed due to organizational targets for profits, greenwashing preys on the market’s desire to ensure proper environmental management. Eventually, such falsified marketing strategies would result in the complete loss of confidence by consumers on “green” or improved products. The undoubted participation of one of the world’s leading vehicle manufactures in this practice raises questions not simply on their ethics, but on the ethics of their competitors as well as other players in the automobile industry.
Works Cited
Petroff, Alanna. “Volkswagen scandal may cost up to $87 billion.” 2 October 2015. 9 November 2015