Friday Five: The scandals that rocked the motoring industry in 2015

And so we enter the first week of the last month of 2015. While we’ve enjoyed the many launches and the planning of the country’s first automotive festival known as XLR8, there were many events that have rocked the industry this year, and we don’t mean it in the good way.

So since it is the start of a new month and the near end of the year, let’s revisit all that have happened in 2015 that have shocked our industry and left us still reeling.

No.5

Ferdinand Piech resigns as the CEO of Volkswagen

The grandson of Volkswagen Beetle inventor Ferdinand Porsche made a shocking move by resigning from the top seat of the VW AG in April this year after losing a showdown that he had provoked with Martin Winterkorn, the man who ultimately replaced him after he left all roles at VW. It was the end of an era for the VW AG.

No.4

Dieselgate

While Martin Winterkorn had triumph over Piech in the internal battle, Winterkorn did not occupy the CEO seat for long. After an American journalist had announced his discovery that VW diesel vehicles do not follow the emission compliance and the false printing of information, Winterkorn had to step down to allow Porsche CEO Matthias Muller to take over to save the company.

No.3

Proton’s Saga VS ANCAP standards

Closer to home, we all had our eyes on the news about which local car company had changed the safety configuration on their cars from the models they’ve sent for the ANCAP safety testing. It had taken Proton a long time to stand up and own up to that investigation but does the lack of ISOFIX fixtures make a difference?

No.2

Uber & Grabcar VS Taxis of Malaysia

(Image Source: Wikipedia) This is an ongoing battle. Petitions and rallies and even defamation cases, the fight to get rid of Uber and Grabcar services looks to be heading straight into mid next year. While I’m all for better quality rides, do you not feel bad for the Taxi drivers who had their work taken away from them?

No.1

Increased toll fairs

(Image source: lipstiq.com) You don’t have to be a motoring enthusiast to feel affected by this scandal. In a move, the government have decided to raise toll fairs by a minimum of RM0.60 across town and many are suffering the after effect of this decision. How much more toll fees do you need to fork out after the raise toll fairs? Tell us.

Jerrica Leong