NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / February 26, 2022 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Volkswagen AG (“Volkswagen” or the “Company”) (OTC:VWAGY) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division and registered at 22-cv-00045, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than the defendants who purchased or otherwise acquired Volkswagen American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) between March 29, 2021 and March 30, 2021, both dates inclusive (the “Collection Period”), for the purpose of seeking damages arising out of violation of federal securities laws by the Defendants, and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials .

If you are a shareholder who purchased or otherwise acquired ADRs from Volkswagen during the class action period, you have until March 15, 2022 to ask the court to appoint you as lead plaintiff in the class action. A copy of the complaint is available at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW) toll free ext. 7980. Individuals inquiring by email will be asked to provide their mailing address, phone number and the number of shares purchased.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

Volkswagen AG (internationally known as the Volkswagen Group) is one of the world’s leading car manufacturers and the largest car manufacturer in Europe. The Group comprises twelve brands from seven European countries: Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Audi, SEAT, ŠKODA, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Ducati, Scania and MAN. Each brand has its own character and appears as an independent entity on the market. The product spectrum ranges from motorcycles and small cars to luxury vehicles. The defendant Volkswagen AG operates 118 production sites in 20 European countries and 10 countries in America, Asia and Africa. Volkswagen AG sells its vehicles in 153 countries.

Volkswagen AG is a German stock corporation headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Volkswagen’s ADRs are traded over-the-counter under the ticker symbol “VWAGY”. Defendant Volkswagen AG is the parent company and sole owner of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. Volkswagen AG directly controls and directs the operations of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., which is acting as its agent in the United States.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG. It operates a manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee and houses the US operations of Volkswagen’s brands, including Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini. Headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, the company employs approximately 8,000 people in the United States and sells its vehicles through a dealer network of 1,000 dealers.

On March 29, 2021, Volkswagen briefly posted a “draft” press release on its website, incorrectly dated “March 29.”peopleswag” to “voltswag.”

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants made materially false and misleading statements about Volkswagen’s business and operations during the class-action period. In particular, the defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the name “Voltswagen” would never be used by the company’s US subsidiary; (ii) the company and its spokespersons intentionally misled reporters even after reporters inquired whether the name change was an April Fool’s joke; and (iii) as a result, Defendants’ public statements and statements to journalists were, at all relevant times, materially false and/or misleading.

On Tuesday, March 30, 2021, just two days before April Fool’s Day on April 1 Wall Street Journal (“WSJ“) reported that a spokesman for the company in Wolfsburg, Germany, stated that “[t]The whole thing was just a marketing campaign to get people talking about the ID.4 WSJ also quotes a company representative from Germany: “[t]there will be no name change here.”

on March 31, 2021, Agence France-Presse (“AFP“) quoted the spokesman for Volkswagen AG, Deputy Head of Corporate Communications, Christoph Ludewig: “Volkswagen of America developed . . . a national US marketing campaign that tongue-in-cheek draws attention to Volkswagen’s e-offensive. From the outset, the aim was to generate attention for an important company and industry topic in the USA. The large amount of positive feedback on social media shows that we have achieved this goal. At the same time, we regret that, in the eyes of some, we have overshot the goal of the campaign.” AFP also reported that “[r]Reporters reacted angrily to the stunt, with some pointing out that it came from a company still recovering from the 2015 “Dieselgate” scandal, when Volkswagen admitted it had been using fraudulent software in cars to conduct emissions tests for years to manipulate.” Phil Chetwynd, Global News Director of AFPwrote to the company to protest the deception, stating, “We understand when a spokesperson is unable to confirm or comment on any information. But we never expect them to provide false information. We firmly believe that reputable journalists and news outlets should not be used for marketing and promotional purposes by companies like Volkswagen. For us it is a very serious breach of trust that must not be repeated.”

The price of Volkswagen ADRs plummeted on this news, falling 3.84%, or $1.45 per share, to close at $36.3 per share on March 31, 2021 (from a closing price of $37.75 per share on March 31, 2021). March 30, 2021), which hurt investors.

On April 1, 2021, forbes published an article entitled “Volkswagen’s April Fools’ Day Joke Misses the Target – and an Opportunity to Regain Trust”, which also criticized the alleged Volkswagen AG name change.

The price of Volkswagen ADRs continued to fall as the market processed the news of the alleged name change. The Company’s ADR price fell 1.98%, or $0.72 per share, to close at $35.58 per share on April 1, 2021 (from a closing price of $36.3 per share on March 31, 2021) , which hurt investors.

Overall, Volkswagen’s ADR price fell $2.17 per share, or 5.75%, over the course of two trading days from March 31, 2021 to April 1, 2021, hurting investors.

Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris and Tel Aviv, is recognized as one of the leading law firms specializing in corporate, securities and antitrust litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, best known as Dean of the Class Bar Association, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues the tradition he founded and fights for the rights of victims of securities fraud, fiduciary breaches and corporate wrongdoing. The firm has recovered numerous multi-million dollar claims on behalf of group members. See www.pomlaw.com.

SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP

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