Volkswagen AG’s stock will be removed from the Dow Jones Sustainability indexes after the automaker cheated on emissions tests.
The carmaker’s admission on Sept. 18 that it systematically manipulated U.S. emissions tests prompted a review of its status, S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and RobecoSAM said in a statement Tuesday. Since that day, its shares have dropped 39 percent, reducing the company’s market value by 27.5 billion euros.
According to the statement, the stock will be removed from the DJSI World, DJSI Europe and all other related indexes after the close of trading on October 5.
S&P Dow Jones Indices and RobecoSAM manage the Dow Jones sustainability gauges, which track the performance of firms that rank the best in their industries in terms of economic, environmental and social criteria.
Launched in 1999, the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index was the first global such benchmark.
Volkswagen is also included in London Stock Exchange Group Plc’s FTSE4Good indexes of socially responsible companies. Membership in those benchmarks is reviewed in June and December, with input from an independent advisory committee, David Harris, head of FTSE Russell ESG, the unit that provides the indexes, said in an e-mailed statement.
Yesterday prosecutors in Germany said they have initiated a criminal probe of the carmaker that includes an investigation of former Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn.
