The problems just seem to keep piling on for Volkswagen. After being hit by an emission scandal that could set back the company by almost USD 18 billion in fines alone, their new gearbox also appears to have been put on hold. The company had showcased a 10-speed DSG gearbox at the Vienna Engine Symposium in September and was going to act as a replacement to the present six-speed DSG from the manufacturer. Ironically, the idea behind this was the reduction of CO2 emissions from the Volkswagen line up. This gearbox was likely to be a feature on the next generation of cars from the company including the Passat, which was seen last year. Not only these, it was also to feature on cars from makers like Audi, Seat and Skoda. However, now all of that has been put in doubt with this announcement.
The reason that Volkswagen has given for this is that the project was becoming too complex and increasingly expensive. This will be a huge setback for the company though as they will not only lose more face in the emissions scandal but will also lose out to Mercedes Benz who has already adopted a more emission friendly transmission technology. Volkswagen does seem to be going through an extremely rough patch, but with the shakeup of the top management and the appointment of a new CEO one can expect that the company will be making some major announcements soon.
