The Volkswagen Group is now aware that about 800,000 vehicles using diesel could be affected in the irregular type approval for Carbon dioxide levels in the vehicles, and rectifying this error could cost the company about 2 billion euros – the auto company said in a blog post.
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“During the course of internal investigations, unexplained inconsistencies were found when determining Type Approval CO2 [carbon dioxide] levels”, the company said in a statement.
The latest revelations in the scandal came a day after US environmental officials charged that the cheating scheme included more cars with larger engines than previously thought.
Before Tuesday, Volkswagen had set aside billions of dollars to cover the costs of the scandal and had reported its first quarterly loss in more than 20 years.
The carmaker acknowledged that it has underestimated the fuel consumption of a few 800,000 cars in Europe, which means those cars were more expensive to drive than what buyers were led to believe. However, the company has indicated the vehicles have 1.4-litre engines and are mostly Polos and Golfs, although a few are Audi, Seat and Škoda cars. “If we’re successful on that part of the claim, the customer may be entitled to a refund of the purchase”, Bannister Law founder Charles Bannister said in a statement, as quoted via the Sydney Morning Herald. “For us only one thing counts, and that is the truth”. Just five days ago, Volkswagen’s new CEO, Matthias Mueller, told reporters he would leave “no stone unturned to find out what exactly happened and to ensure nothing like this happens again”.
Volkswagen has lost a third of its share price since mid-September and its shares fell by a further 5 percent on Tuesday evening after it revealed the Carbon dioxide problem.
The issue mainly affects diesel engines, however, petrol engines could also be included.
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The EPA’s earlier allegations focused on certain models of a 2-liter engine. In the United States, authorities on Monday accused VW of fitting illegal defeat devices not only on its smaller engines, but also into various six-cylinder 3.0 litre diesel VW Touareg, Porsche Cayenne and Audis. Immediately after testing is finished, the software switches into standard drive mode in which poisonous nitrogen oxide emissions rise to up to nine times the EPA’s standard, the agency said.
