Chris Blackhurst: Volkswagen still has a lot of explaining to do

The Volkswagen scandal has barely begun, and the car giant is trying to signal its end.

MPs with a VW outlet in their constituency have received letters from the firm, apologising for the “wrongdoing of a few individuals”.

Meanwhile, VW has taken out full-page newspaper advertisements saying: “We will do everything to regain your trust.”

This is both arrogant and presumptuous.

So far, we know 11 million vehicles were fitted with illegal emissions-cheating software.

Among them were Volkswagens, Audis, Skodas, Seats and VW vans. Different brands, made at different factories.

That does not strike me as the work of a “few individuals”. Or rather if it was, they must have been very high in the organisation to have the requisite degree of overview, to have ordered those beneath them to insert the devices.

We need to know the identities of all those involved in the plot before VW can issue such blandishments.

Likewise, rebuilding reputation comes towards the very end of the process. We’re a long way from that.

Customers are still absorbing the shock of what’s occurred and how it affects the value of their car; the company faces official inquiries and lawsuits galore, all over the globe. Heaven knows what they will turn up.

To try to insist it’s already time to move on is crass. It’s far too hasty, ill-judged, and devoid of empathy.

We need much more by way of detailed, full and frank explanation, and large amounts of mea culpa, before that can even begin to occur.