The European car industry was shaken yesterday after Volkswagen’s share price fell almost 20 per cent over its admission that it cheated on US emissions¹ tests, triggering calls for a broader inquiry² into the sector³.

大众汽车(Volkswagen)承认其在美国的尾气排放测试中造假后，昨日股价暴跌近20%，还引发了对整个行业展开全面调查的呼吁。消息震惊欧洲汽车业。

More than ㄠ3bn was wiped off VW’s market capitalisation, triggering a wider fall in carmakers’ shares, after Martin Winterkorn, the group’s chief executive, apologised and ordered an external investigation⁴ into the affair.

大众汽车的市值蒸发逾130亿欧元，并拖累其他汽车制造商股价。该集团首席执行官文德恩(Martin Winterkorn)已就测试造假道歉，并下令对这件事展开外部调查。

The German government called for an urgent probe into whether VW and other carmakers had also manipulated emissions’ tests in Germany. Sigmar Gabriel, Germany’s vice-chancellor, said it was a “bad episode” for the car industry.

德国政府要求紧急调查大众等汽车制造商是否也曾在德国接受排放测试时造假。德国副总理西格马尔加布里尔(Sigmar Gabriel)表示，这是汽车行业的一个“不光彩篇章”。

The world’s second-biggest carmaker was ordered on Friday to recall nearly half a million cars in the US after it admitted to the US regulator, the Environmental Protection Agency, that it had fitted “defeat devices” to bypass environmental standards.

世界第二大汽车制造商上周五被勒令在美国召回近50万辆汽车，此前它向美国监管机构——国家环境保护局(EPA)承认，它曾安装“欺骗装置”以便冒充达到环保标准。

The EPS and California Air Resources Board have now begun procuring⁵ other manufacturers’ vehicles to test for similar devices, while Berlin plans to examine whether emissions data have been manipulated.

美国国家环保局和加州空气资源委员会(California Air Resources Board)已开始采购其他厂商的汽车，以测试其是否安装了类似装置，而德国官方拟审查排放数据是否曾被操纵。

The news prompted a fall in carmakers’ shares with Daimle, BMW, Renault and PSA Peugeot Citro渀 each being sold off amid investor⁶ concerns over the potential scale of the cost to the broader industry. VW faces billions of dollars in fines and warranty⁷ costs, possible criminal charges for executives and class-action lawsuits⁸ from US drivers.

这一消息导致汽车制造商股价纷纷下跌，戴姆勒(Daimler)、宝马(BMW)、雷诺(Renault)和标致雪铁龙(PSA Peugeot Citro渀)均遭到抛售，投资者担忧整个行业潜在面临巨额成本。大众面临着数十亿美元的罚款和保修成本，还可能被美国车主提起集体诉讼，该公司的高管可能面临刑事指控。