Case Study: Volkswagen’s “Clean Diesel” Deception That Shattered Trust
Brief Summary Volkswagen’s acclaimed “Clean Diesel” marketing campaign backfired disastrously when it was revealed in 2015 that the company had deliberately cheated on emissions tests. The German automaker had promoted its diesel cars as low-emission, eco-friendly vehicles only for regulators to discover a hidden software “defeat device” that made them appear clean in tests while they actually emitted up to 40 times the legal pollution on the road. The ensuing scandal (dubbed “Dieselgate”) led to a global outcry, billions in fines and recall costs, and a crisis of trust that tarnished Volkswagen’s reputation as an industry leader in innovation and