VW’s car ‘accident’: Don't waste a crisis

Quick quiz. By how much do VW, BMW, Daimler Benz and Ford exceed the value of Tesla? The equity in Tesla is valued at US$33b on the stock market. Daimler is about double at US$71b. VW, BMW and Ford are around US$50b. So is Tesla expensive, or is everything else cheap? Hard to say. But at this value, VW could arguably be better off significantly reducing its fossil fuel car business and putting its energy (pun intended) into the electric vehicle. This may sound radical, but seasoned observers are already saying that the VW scandal could kill off diesel altogether. The FT is quoting an analyst at brokerage Bernstein saying “The move against VW is going to act as a catalyst to speed up the fall in diesel market share in Europe and halt it in the US.” There has been a mounting backlash against diesel. A study from King’s College in London claims 9,400 people died prematurely in 2010 because they breathed in pollutants from diesel engines – more than died in car accidents. Read more here (VIEW LINK)