The Volkswagen AG’s emission-test scandal put automobile industry and related exchange traded funds in reverse gear Tuesday.
The First Trust NASDAQ Global Auto Index Fund (NasdaqGM: CARZ), which provides access to global automobile manufacturers, dropped 4.0% Tuesday.
Auto stocks retreated Tuesday, with Volkswagen stocks plunging 20%, after the German automaker revealed irregularities in diesel-output readings on 11 million vehicles around the world and setting aside 6.5 billion euros, or $7.3 billion, for potential costs, Bloomberg reports.
“The extremely negative thing about it is that you cannot quantify the overall costs and penalties for VW that will occur,” Matthias Jasper, head of equities at WGZ Bank, told Bloomberg. “It may take years to come and people are getting really nervous about it. I’m completely unable to give a time horizon when this may end; it’s a pretty scary picture. This is also the reason why even long-term oriented investors are dumping the shares.”
On Tuesday, German and French officials said that an investigation into Volkswagen’s alleged manipulation of U.S. emission tests should be extended to include the entire industry, which triggered additional selling across the industry, with Daimler AG, Peugeot SA, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, and BMW AG falling over 6%, the Wall Street Journal reports.
CARZ holds Volkswagen 3.1%, Daimler 7.9%, Peugeot 2.3% and BMW 4.1%.
Moreover, the added scrutiny on the European auto industry weighed heavily on Eurozone stocks, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index falling off 3.1% Tuesday.