BlackRock Sees Board Governance at VW Going in Reverse (1)

Volkswagen AG has disregarded years of criticism about its corporate-governance practices, leading BlackRock Inc. to predict the carmaker’s board will only backslide in the coming years.

VW lacks enough independent oversight, which the world’s biggest asset manager believes played a major role in the massive diesel-emissions scandal that erupted five years ago. Directors also are appointed to five-year terms, which BlackRock opposes because it limits the opportunity to improve the board.

“Based on the expected timeline for the expiration of existing supervisory board terms, coupled with the company’s lack of response to date to our concerns, we expect the level ...