VW's French division reported counterfeit delivery numbers since 2010

Volkswagen's French division reported imprecise delivery figures to their German headquarters since 2010. Der Spiegel said that the reports were deliberately misled to make its performance look better, citing a report by the carmaker's internal auditors.

The auditing authorities found a number of cars were being registered several months, or even years after their deliveries to the respective owners. The activity was recorded by the French business, a process that normally takes weeks, some of the vehicles classified as delivered however, didn't even have purchase contracts, says the report. Inaccurate information was provided for almost 8,00,000 vehicles in total, report added. The spokesman at Volkswagen's headquarters refused to discuss the matter, saying “the company doesn't comment on internal documents."

The French division acts began in 2010 affecting the cars under the VW's brand name, Audi, Skoda and the Spanish Seat brand, said Der Spiegel.

VW group chief executive Matthias Mueller was presented with the auditors' report on 24th April resulting, the head of VW's French operations, Jacques Rivoal, quit. When Rivoal's departure was announced, VW put forth strategic differences with the management as a reason for the French manager's exit, and did not elaborate more on the subject.

Source