On Tuesday, Volkswagen admitted that 11 million of its diesel cars worldwide are equipped with devices that can cheat pollution tests, after shock revelations in the US.
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Mr. McLoughlin said that London had asked European Union authorities “to conduct a Europe-wide investigation into whether there is evidence that cars here have been fitted with defeat devices”, as the software is known.
The office released a statement mentioning that 1.2-litre, 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre diesel engines of VW models – including VW’s Audi, Seat and Skoda brands, could come under the temporary ban, reported BBC.
Regulators and prosecutors in several countries are investigating the fake emissions tests. “It’s imperative that this kind of thing can never happen again at Volkswagen which is why the group is going to enforce even stricter standards of compliance and governance”.
Olaf Lies, economy and transport minister of VW’s home state Lower Saxony, which holds a 20% stake in the company, said the investigation into the scandal was only just starting.
Customers and motor dealers are furious Volkswagen has yet to say which models and construction years are affected, and whether it will have to recall any cars for refits. Berthold Huber, Interim Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG, suggested that Müller “knows the Group and its brands well and can immediately engage in his new task with full energy”.
Mr Winterkorn had said, on Wednesday, he took responsibility for the “irregularities” found by United States inspectors in Volkswagen’s diesel engines, but said he had personally done nothing wrong. The rest of the time, the cars produce up to 40 times the legal limit of nitrogen oxides (NOx), the stuff linked to asthma and other respiratory problems. The German government has said that those included cars in Europe but it is not yet clear how many. Violating the Clean Air Act, which the EPA insists Volkswagen is guilty of doing, could cost $18 billion alone.
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EPA officials insisted on a call with reporters Friday that the previous testing procedures were sophisticated and sufficient to accurately detect the emissions from the diesel cars as long as a manufacturer is not deliberating trying to cheat the process.
