Wolfsburg are confident that the Volkswagen (VW) emissions scandal will not affect the club’s financing, sporting executive Klaus Allofs has told kicker.
The German car manufacturer’s CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned on Wednesday in the wake of a scandal that is expected to cost the company billions of dollars in the coming years.
The scandal over falsified United States vehicle emission tests saw VW shares plummet from over €160 to €111.5 within three days. The company could also face penalty fines of up to $18 billion (€16.1bn) in the U.S., for which they have set aside €6.5bn.
VW own stakes in three bBundesliga clubs – Wolfsburg, Bayern Munich and Ingolstadtbut – but it is Wolfsburg, who are 100 per cent owned by the car manufacturer, who are most exposed to the crisis.
When Winterkorn and a rival battled for control of the club earlier this year, German tabloid Bild reported that VW threatened to cut their Wolfsburg funding from an annual €80m to €30m.
Despite the financial hit VW is expected to take, Wolfsburg sporting executive Allofs told kicker that he is confident for the club’s future.
“Of course, we discuss it [the crisis] on the board,” he said, and added that he also talked to Wolfsburg’s head of supervisory board Francisco Javier Garcia – an executive board member at VW – but admitted they did not go into details.
“We have not discussed the effects on VfL,: he added. “I believe that’s not necessary. The VfL commitment has a great meaning.
“And it will not be automatically questioned by a crisis. We know the value VfL has for Volkswagen. And I believe this value will not change.”