Shares of Volkswagen Turkish distributor Doğuş hammered as scandal widens

ISTANBUL - Reuters

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Shares of Volkswagen AG’s main Turkish distributor Doğuş Otomotiv tumbled more than 12 percent on Sept. 28, hit by concerns that the emissions cheating scandal at the German automaker could undermine sales of its local dealers.

Doğuş imports more than 14 brands including VW group marques Porsche, Skoda and Audi, as well as Volkswagen.

Doğuş is monitoring developments, its executive board chairman, Ali Bilaloğlu, said in a statement, without saying what impact if any he expected from the scandal.

“The details regarding the affected vehicles globally and in Turkey will be determined following an investigation carried out by Volkswagen AG,” he said.

The company did not say whether it plans to recall any vehicles in Turkey, or how many diesel cars could be impacted.

The VW marque achieved sales of more than 93,000 cars and light vehicles in Turkey in the first eight months of this year, making it market leader with a 15.5 percent share, according to industry data. There is no breakdown of how many of those sold had diesel engines.

Volkswagen has said 11 million worldwide had been installed with so-called “defeat devices” which allowed its cars to skirt emissions tests.

Many Turkish market participants were away last week due to the Eid al Adha holiday, meaning Sept. 28 was the first day of active trade since the scandal broke.