Volkswagen’s hopes that it was getting on top of the emissions-test cheating scandals that emerged in September were short-lived. European regulators have accepted its proposals to fix affected cars. The damage to sales in America was less than feared—they fell by 9% year on year in December. But now VW faces a civil action by the Department of Justice that could cost it up to $48 billion. Criminal charges and more fines may follow. Investors shuddered, fearing a repeat of BP’s colossal Deepwater Horizon payouts. Exane BNP Paribas, a bank, reckons VW will end up paying a fraction of that sum.
