What's all this about?

Volkswagen is looking to put its recent troubles behind it by announcing a five-point plan and a new strategy that will be revealed next year. Matthias Muller, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen, said: "We have to look beyond the current situation and create the conditions for Volkswagen's successful further development," and continued by stating, "Volkswagen will emerge from the current situation stronger than before".

What's the plan?

Number one priority is supporting customers affected by the diesel issue. Volkswagen is working on 'effective technical solutions', set to be implemented from January 2016.

The second point is to establish what happened, with audit firm Deloitte engaged to investigate as part of a thorough inquiry. Muller commented: "We must uncover the truth and learn from it", promising that those responsible would face severe consequences.

A degree of reorganisation was the third item, with a decentralisation of management and greater autonomy for the brands and regions. Muller envisions the role of the Board of Management as addressing cross-brand strategies, leveraging synergies and ensuring that Group resources are used effectively. "We will review in detail our current portfolio of more than 300 models and examine the contribution that each one makes to our earnings."

Fourth priority is a realignment of the group's culture and management behaviour. According to Muller, the pursuit of perfection, the employees' commitment and social responsibility will be retained. What should change is the way Volkswagen communicates and how it handles its mistakes. "We need a culture of openness and cooperation," Muller said, and called on personnel to display more courage, greater creativity and a more entrepreneurial spirit in their dealings with one another.

Finally, the Group Strategy 2018 will be transformed into 'Strategy 2025', with the goal of achieving 'qualitative growth' rather than looking to outsell its competitors. The Volkswagen CEO said: "Many people outside of Volkswagen, but also some of us, did not understand that our Strategy 2018 is about much more than production numbers. A lot of things were subordinated to the desire to be "Faster, Higher, Larger", especially return on sales." More details of the group's Strategy 2025 will be revealed mid-way through 2016.