As the push for greener vehicles continues, Volkswagen is taking an unprecedented step in support of the environment.
Herbert Diess, the CEO of Volkswagen Group, announced this week that the company would hire a climate activist to scrutinize their future plans and policies. The hire will be tasked with ensuring VW makes decisions with the environment in mind.
“We have so many ideas, but they take too long to implement in our big organization, so I need someone really aggressive internally,” Diess said in an interview with the Financial Times.
Volkswagen’s reputation is still recovering after Dieselgate. They clearly hope that kicking their green efforts into high gear will help them earn back some public trust. Diess promised that hiring a climate campaigner was more than just a public relations move. He promised the hire would have direct access to senior VW execs, including himself.
Dieselgate cost the company around $33 million, after they admitted to manipulating exhaust tests for up to 11 million diesel vehicles in 2015. In response, the company made a serious investment into electric vehicles. In fact, it’s been considered one of the most aggressive pushes into EV technology from a traditional automaker, with VW committing $36 billion over the next five years.
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