What's going on?

There�s further�bad news for Volkswagen (VW): more cars could be affected by the on-going emissions scandal and its costs will probably increase. Its stock sold off 9% - meaning it lost about �5 billion in market value.

What does this mean?

The latest news is that Volkswagen has declared to European regulators that there are more problems with its fuel efficiency tests. This new problem concerns carbon dioxide emissions and affects gas as well as diesel cars. The initial problems were with the nitrogen-oxide emissions of its diesel cars only. This matters because it means it�s a new, different problem - and it�s expensive (they are putting aside �2 billion to pay for it). What this all means is that the scandal has got a lot bigger this week � and a lot more expensive for VW.

Why should I care?

1. The bigger picture: The news might be bad for other European carmakers. Since VW identified the new problem to the European regulators, it might mean that the regulator was failing to catch other carmakers that were exhibiting the same issue � which is probably why shares of European autos were down around 2% today.
2. For the stock: Uncertainty is bad. Just last week VW declared �6.7 billion in costs to fix the diesel cars now affected. Now it announces new problems that will cost �2 billion. Investors are asking, essentially, when does this end? Without clarity, the total costs are difficult to estimate � and the uncertainty usually leads to investors selling the stock.