About half a million four-cylinder Audi and Volkswagen cars manufactured between 2009 and 2015 could be affected by a possible 500,000-vehicle recall. No details were available Sunday about how the firm’s external investigation would be conducted.
Advertisement
Volkswagen, on the other hand, admitted to installing software code designed to manipulate the results of EPA tests, regulators say.
Such software is defined as a “defeat device” by the Clean Air Act, a 1963 law aimed at controlling air pollution in the U.S.
Wolfsburg, September 20, 2015 – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board (EPA and CARB) revealed their findings that while testing diesel cars of the Volkswagen Group they have detected manipulations that violate American environmental standards. He said his company was cooperating with authorities.
The state of California is also investigating Volkswagen’s violations.
“We were astounded when we saw the numbers”, said John German, the U.S.co-lead of the worldwide Council on Clean Transportation. However, that process could take up to a year, depending on the complexity of the issue, an EPA official said.
VW is barred from selling 2016 model vehicles with the 2.0 liter diesel engine until “they get answers to the questions of how these vehicles are being operated”. And the automaker ordered an internal investigation. Here is the official statement that was released today.
“I personally am deeply sorry that we have broken the trust of our customers and the public”, CEO Martin Winterkorn said in a statement Sunday. We at Volkswagen will do everything that must be done in order to re-establish the trust that so many people have placed in us, and we will do everything necessary in order to reverse the damage this has caused.
The withholding of the certification could be a devastating blow for VW, which relies on diesels for roughly a fifth of its USA sales and has made its clean diesel technology a cornerstone of its brand identity, setting it apart from mainstream competitors.
Winterkorn stopped short of admitting to the EPA’s allegations.
Advertisement
“Using a defeat device in cars to evade clean air standards is illegal and a threat to public health”, said Cynthia Giles, EPA’s assistant administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
