VW boss Diess: That’s not enough, G7 – Disappointing outcome | Hacker News Reader

VW boss Diess: That’s not enough, G7 – Disappointing outcome

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7 pointsdoener7 comments

How does he have a leg to stand on when talking about airbourne pollution from coal-fired power stations? I think of him every time a diesel VW overtakes me when I'm cycling, and I wonder how much extra damage my lungs are receiving thanks to him.

It is a wrong person you think of because he took over at VW after the Dieselgate and he is the main driver for EV at VW. The person you should be lashing out on is Martin Winterkorn.

What I don't get is how does coal apply to electric cars and how electric cars solve the coal usage problem. He clearly has an agenda and tries boosting EV sales. Can't blame him, he is the CEO and shareholders are watching.

Apologies, you are correct - he was prosecuted for failing to warn shareholders about the financial impact of the emissions scandal, not for taking part in the scandal itself.

As for coal - Germany accounts for 45% of all coal consumed in the EU, so Mr. Diess can look much closer to home. Secondly - it's meaningless anyway, until the very energy-intensive materials that comprise an EV are not made in Asian countries that burn an astronomical amount of coal to power their industries.

> As for coal - Germany accounts for 45% of all coal consumed in the EU, so Mr. Diess can look much closer to home.

He is addressing the G7, not pointing fingers at individual countries. He also appears to be getting his facts wrong in that emotional statement. Germany is planning to be coal free by 2038, US and Japan blocked the 2030 deal and plan 2035 to be the date.

The man is stirring emotions before elections in Germany. Green party taking over means boost of sales in the EV segment in the next couple of years. He is executing the CEO tasks perfectly, regardless the overall cost.

But....

German prosecutors brought criminal charges of stock market manipulation against Herbert Diess

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-tria...

>As the current CEO of Volkswagen, Herbert Diess was prosecuted, along with and Hans Dieter Pötsch, the chairman of the supervisory board of Volkswagen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Diess

Yes, but stock manipulation, as bad as it gets, is not what enabled the emissions scandal. The actions under charges are the outcome of the already uncovered scandal. The emissions scandal was uncovered in September 2015. Diess joined VW from BMW in December 2014.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Diess: "Shareholders were withheld from being informed about the huge financial implications due to the falsified diesel emissions. The scandal then gained media attention which highlights German law. German law requires top executives to inform shareholders about significant financial risks and issues."

That why i wrote "But"... ;)

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