Welcome to today's edition of the Daily 5.
When we hear about global automotive scandals, the sensational story of fugitive former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn always comes to mind, generating multiple books and feature length movies.
But by almost any definition, the impact of the 2015 Volkswagen diesel emissions cheating scandal dwarfs Ghosn by a wide margin. It cost VW at least $38 billion, changed how car emissions are monitored, implicated several VW executives and generated numerous legal settlements among suppliers.
And several more automakers, such as Mercedes-Benz and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, faced legal actions for essentially the same thing. FCA, now known as Stellantis after its merger with PSA Group, pleaded guilty to U.S. criminal conspiracy charges in June 2022.
Some of the guilty VW insiders, such as former engineer Oliver Schmidt, have already served their prison sentences or paid fines.
But not former CEO Martin Winterkorn, who today finally faced trial in Germany for his alleged roles in the cheating scam — almost exactly nine years from when the scandal went public.
Will this be the closing chapter in this sordid tale of systemic criminal cheating in the auto industry? Perhaps, but don't bet on it.
Meanwhile, the ongoing management shake-up at Stellantis continues. The automaker today named a new chief for Jeep in North America.
Another good story in our report today takes a look at Toyota's game changing finance tool for dealerships.
We also have a lot more from our Future Product Pipeline series, including a story on how Honda profits from its hybrids while Nissan has none in its U.S. lineup.
Tomorrow, we'll have more on Nissan's future product plans.
That's it for now. Have a great rest of your day.
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