In a recent statement outlining Volkswagen’s future plans in regards to its new board of management, the company has confirmed the next-gen Phaeton flagship sedan will be offered with a fully electric powertrain.
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“We are very aware that we can only implement these innovations for the future of the Volkswagen brand effectively if we succeed with our efficiency programme and in giving our product range a new focus”, added Dr Diess.
“Unless we change our regulations now, we’ll be a place where other countries can dump their dirty cars”, said Richard Di Natale, leader of Australia’s Greens Party, which wields an influential voting bloc in the country’s Senate, where the conservative government needs support from others to pass laws.
“Ventures are to be decreased by somebody billion euros for every year, the effectiveness project is to be quickened”, VW said in an announcement.
In mid-September, the US Environmental Protection Agency said that Volkswagen used software that activates emission controls only when the vehicle is going through official testing to fake test results and pass strict emissions standards.
Diess said the company would change its diesel technology in Europe and North America and install systems that that use a mixture of the chemical substance urea and water to reduce diesel emissions.
There are about 67,000 of the cars – 2009 to 2015 VW and Audis with 2-liter diesel engines – in California, according to auto information company Kelley Blue Book.
In the third quarter, VW will set aside $7.4 billion as provisions; however, the new CEO Matthias Mueller says that this amount will only cover costs, such as that of repairs.
Those are the Volkswagen e-Golf hatchback, a battery-electric model with an EPA-rated range of 83 miles, and the Audi A3 e-tron, a plug-in hybrid whose official electric range hasn’t yet been released.
The German company also said it would overhaul the model strategy at its core VW division.
About 50 people who own Passat models, made at a US-based production facility in Tennessee, will file a class action lawsuit in the coming weeks in the USA where punitive damages are acknowledged.
VW presented German authorities with a plan last week for fixing affected cars in its home market.
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Regulators are still reviewing the proposals, which range from a software update to new parts for diesel motors.
