Volkswagen has done it again. On Tuesday evening the automaker said some petrol cars – note that the focus is now shifting from diesel cars – had worse than previously reported emissions. The Board of directors are obviously “deeply concerned”. They will consult on further measures and consequences.

This statement creates issues that may not be evident immediately. Imagine this real life situation; you go to supermarket and in one of the large freezers there is this boxed pizza. The picture at the front shows a product that would make any Italian dream about pizza.

And deep inside, somewhere in your head were common sense fleetingly prevails, you feel that even if you follow the instructions to the letter ‘you will never be able to replicate the pizza on the box’. And this appears to be common knowledge.

You invite your girlfriend over for a movie. The wine is fine to the point that it says on the bottle that it is red and inside it is red. The movie is about to start, so you open the pizza box and while the frozen disc inside airs suspicion, hope for a genuine Italian pizza does not abate.

You follow the instructions on the box to the letter and time the oven to the second. Because maybe, five seconds in the oven or one degree will be the difference between a Micheline star or two.

There is no way in the world that you can make a decent pizza out of a frozen box.

Volkswagen has been claiming that their diesel engines are clean. That is an old story now. Yesterday’s announcement appears to indicate that consumption figures are an invention. A simple internet search appears to hint that all automaker exaggerate their fuel consumption data. This seems to be common knowledge.

Only this time we are talking about products that cost thousands. These are at the pinnacle of modern technology. Your boxed pizza may not taste like the genuine item but neither does it produce NOx or CO2 emissions and it does not cost as much as a house. Still automakers, despite accepting our thousands still fail to deliver on their promises.

I expect the auto sector to suffer from this latest announcement especially if major car companies are unable to deny that claimed consumption figures are incorrect. The cost on the industry will depend on authorities’ willingness to face the industry head on. As a consumer I am disappointed in the car companies. Most of us Maltese have a special attachment to our car.

As an investor, I am going underweight in the industry for the time being. I will look at the sector again once the dust settles.

This article was issued by Antoine Briffa, Investment Manager at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt. The information, view and opinions provided in this article is being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice.