Volkswagen Considering Ending Bundesliga Club Sponsorship Amid Emissions Scandal

Bundesliga clubs Hannover 96, Werder Bremen and Schalke 04 as well as second division club 1860 Munich "are on the list of sponsorships Volkswagen AG is considering dropping to cut costs amid its emissions scandal," according to REUTERS. Volkswagen, Europe’s largest carmaker, "is battling the biggest business crisis in its 78-year history" after admitting in September it installed software in diesel vehicles to deceive U.S. regulators about the true level of their toxic emissions. Volkswagen spends about €1.5M ($1.6M) per season on each of the football clubs it could now cut from its sponsorship list. In addition, Volkswagen "may drop" its €5M ($5.3M)-a-year sponsorship of the ice hockey club Grizzlys Wolfsburg. Volkswagen said that football "was a major pillar of its sponsoring strategy that it would continue to pursue in the future." It said in a statement, "It has not yet been decided what the volume of that will be" (REUTERS, 11/22).