Volkswagen finance arm makes record 2016 profit regardless of emissions scandal

Volkswagen‘s finance department reported record earnings in 2016, regardless of automaker’s emissions scandal, and held out the possibility of another strong result in this year.

Operating profit at Volkswagen Financial Services, which manages dealership and customer funding along with the group’s banking and leasing service, jumped 10 percent to 2.1 billion euros ($2.3 billion). This compares with group underlying operating profit of 14.6 billion euros in 2016.

Volkswagen confessed in September 2015 to cheating U.S. emissions tests on diesel engines, triggering speculation the resale, or recurring, value of its vehicles may drop.

Although the finance division stated on Thursday the residual values of rented automobiles had held up, due to its inclusion of more maintenance and servicing in its contracts.

Frank Fiedler, the division’s financing chief, informed a news conference its ability to match 2016’s performance would depend in part on the result of the group’s planned return to bond markets to decrease its dependence on more costly bank loans.