Expressing his “irritation” with one of Germany’s biggest employers, Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Wednesday that all models sold under the VW, Audi, Skoda and Seat brands – with diesel and petrol engines – would be tested for carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions. In a statement released following the notice, Volkswagen still maintains the V6 diesels do not contain defeat devices, however VW, Porsche, and Audi have issued a stop-sale on these vehicles in North America, as well as 2013 to 2015 models of the Q7. The main pollutant in diesel vehicles is nitrogen dioxide.
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“The allegations are all the more serious given that VW’s new CEO Matthias Müller came from Porsche and any hint of further deception could well see his position come under scrutiny”, said Michael Hewson, a chief market analyst at brokerage company CMC Markets.
While Moody’s said Volkswagen had the financial strength to survive what could cost the company many billions of dollars in fines and compensation, it said the company’s reputation and earnings were at risk.
It did say the new number was predominantly comprised of vehicles with diesel engines. The luxury brand, which is part of the Volkswagen Group, says it’s doing so “in view of the unexpected U.S. EPA notice received yesterday”. A Volkswagen spokeswoman said she was told US vehicles aren’t included.
On Tuesday, the German automaker revealed that an internal investigation had exposed “unexplained inconsistencies” in the carbon dioxide emissions from a few of its vehicles.
Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen AG has already set aside euros 6.7 billion ($7.2 billion) to address its emission crisis. Volkswagen is also reportedly stopping sales of the 2014 Touareg TDI, which was also equipped with the engine cited by the EPA. Volkswagen said it was still investigating and had not yet clarified how the underreporting of the carbon dioxide emissions occurred, but that it was probably not a software issue. It is likely that more news will follow in this direction.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen is recalling almost 92,000 cars in the U.S.to fix mechanical problems that can knock out the power-assisted brakes.
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In initial indications of the scandal affecting sales figures, VW was the only German carmaker to report a decline in auto registrations in Germany last month.
