German car club ADAC hit by vote scandal over ‘auto Oscars’
Few organisations enjoy higher trust among a cautious and fastidious German public than ADAC, the car club that provides roadside assistance when members’ vehicles break down.
So the revelation that the German organisation inflated the voting figures for its annual “Germany’s favourite car” award – coveted by vehicle companies as a valuable marketing tool – at a ceremony dubbed the “auto Oscars”, has triggered an outpouring of anger and bewilderment.
ADAC, whose more than 18m members give it huge lobbying clout in Berlin, conceded that Michael Ramstetter, its communications chief, had made up the number of votes cast for the prize, which was awarded to the VW Golf at the annual ceremony in Munich on Thursday.
Süddeutsche Zeitung, the daily newspaper, reported last week that instead of the claimed 34,299 votes cast in favour of the VW Golf, only 3,409 were received.
Karl Obermair, ADAC managing director, criticised the newspaper at Thursday’s ceremony for printing “falsehoods”, only for Mr Ramstetter to admit his mistake the following day. ADAC fears vote totals in previous years were also manipulated.
Although ADAC insisted the vote manipulation had not affected the outcome – the VW Golf outsold any other vehicle in Germany last year – the scandal has undermined public trust in an organisation previously considered unimpeachable.
ADAC members took to the organisation’s Facebook page to voice their anger, and the scandal drew calls for an inquiry from Germany’s transport minister and car companies, all of which sent executives to attend the ceremony. Among the guests were Martin Winterkorn, Volkswagen chief executive, and Norbert Reithofer, BMW chief executive.
Mr Ramstetter has since resigned as ADAC communications chief and editor of the ADAC Motorwelt magazine. Motorwelt claims to have 15.9m readers, making it the most-read magazine in Europe.
Maintaining trust is vital for ADAC, which provides a range of other services including crash-tests and insurance.
The organisation has consistently blocked attempts to impose a speed limit on Germany’s motorways and opposes a plan to introduce a toll on foreign users of German motorways.
Mr Obermair apologised on behalf of ADAC at a hurriedly scheduled press conference in Munich on Monday, saying employees had reacted with a mix of “outrage and disbelief that such a thing could happen”.
He said ADAC took the matter very seriously but that Mr Ramstetter had accepted sole responsibility. The group had begun an “intensive investigation” in order “to restore trust and the credibility of the ADAC”, he said.
Süddeutsche quoted Mr Ramstetter as saying: “I screwed up and inflated the figures. So I’m accepting the consequences and assuming responsibility.”