According to Automotive News, the Volkswagen Group told the EPA this week that the same software was used on its 3.0-litre V6 TDI engines from the 2009 model year onwards.
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The regulators said that they would take appropriate action on the software which allowed the six cylinder diesels to emit fewer pollutants during tests than in real world driving conditions.
“That should have been reported”, Clegern said, adding that the agencies are now investigating whether that constituted intentional cheating on VW’s part.
On the agenda for the December 9 meeting would be feedback from regulators on the technical solutions proposed to fix cars manipulated to cheat on emissions tests, people familiar with the plans told Bloomberg.
The recall affects cars with two-litre engines from models made in the years 2009-2015. At the time, EPA said it had found that the automaker had installed a “defeat switch” on its cars.
Also Friday, Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller said the company will cut its spending by $1.07 billion next year and “strictly prioritize” investments as it shores up its finances to deal with the emissions-rigging scandal.
“We’re hopeful we’ll be able to announce something soon about the remedies we have identified and which we’ll be discussing with the agencies in the coming days”, Volkswagen Group of America president and chief executive Michael Horn said at a Los Angeles auto show.
“We need to be sure that VW develops an effective fix for each of the three engine types in their cars, since each engine type (Gen 1, 2 and 3) uses different technologies to control pollution”, CARB said on its website.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency now says cheating software is on even more models, stretching back several years. The engines went into smaller VW and Audi cars in the U.S. The latest development means the diesel emission scandal has spread to the heftier VW cars. If regulators conclude their primary goal is to evade emissions tests, they’re considered a defeat device in violation of the law.
The company is proposing to recalibrate the faulty software and resubmit it for approval. Apart from the hefty fines, Volkswagen also has to recall and fix over 482,000 vehicles in the United States.
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“The most unfortunate aspect of this news, in addition to the environmental harm, is that it slows VW’s ability to move beyond the negative headlines and start the rebuilding process”, Karl Brauer, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book, said in an email.
