Dive Brief:
- Volkswagen is still taking hits over last year’s clean diesel scandal after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a suit against the car company on Tuesday for falsely advertising those vehicles as environmentally friendly.
- The FTC complaint was filed in federal court alleging that the auto maker deceived consumers into buying or leasing more than 550,000 diesel cars based on false claims that those vehicles were low-emission and environmentally friendly between late 2008 and late 2015.
- For its part, Volkswagen launched a brand rehabilitation campaign beginning last November to attempt to mitigate the damage to its brand.
Dive Insight:
“For years Volkswagen’s ads touted the company’s ‘Clean Diesel’ cars even though it now appears Volkswagen rigged the cars with devices designed to defeat emissions tests,” FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said in a statement. “Our lawsuit seeks compensation for the consumers who bought affected cars based on Volkswagen’s deceptive and unfair practices.”
Volkswagen's November campaign ads featured VW Group of America CEO Michael Horn with a message for consumers stating, “Over the past several weeks, we've apologized to you, our loyal customers, about the 2.0L VW diesel emissions issue. As we work tirelessly to develop a remedy, we ask for your continued patience."
From a brand management perspective, the legal action from the FTC just opens up Volkswagen’s wounds. The new publicity reminds consumers of one of the more serious recent automotive industry scandals. It will be important for VW to stay in front of the story and be as transparent as possible throughout the process.