It fitted as many as 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide with software that was created to cheat nitrogen oxide emission tests.
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The EPA and the California Air Resources Board said the German automaker acknowledged that the software was on Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche vehicles with 3-liter engines going back to the 2009 model year.
“We are willing to take another crack at reprogramming to a degree that the regulators deem acceptable”, Stertz said.
VW made the disclosure on Thursday, a day before it submitted plans to the EPA to fix a much larger problem – emissions-cheating software on 482,000 four-cylinder diesel cars.
VW said in a statement late Friday it would “fully cooperate with EPA and CARB as we work to develop an approved remedy as quickly as possible” for the 2.0-litre diesels. The company is cooperating with the agencies and wants to continue to have productive conversations with them, she said. Also covered are Audi A6, A7, A8, and Q5s from the 2014 to 2016 model years, according to the EPA. It did not say how many additional cars had the software.
The software is on Audi Q7 and Volkswagen Touareg SUVs from the 2009 through 2016 model years, as well as the Porsche Cayenne from 2013 to 2016.
The carmaker has set aside 6.7 billion euros ($7.4 billion) to cover the costs of recalling the vehicles installed with the software but experts say the total expense, including fines and lost sales, could be several times higher. The automaker added that it is “committed to making things right and regaining the trust of our valued customers”. We reached out to VW for comment and are awaiting an official statement.
“We will strictly prioritize all planned investments and expenditures…”
A few analysts have long urged VW to reduce spending and become more efficient, with profit margins at its mass-market namesake brand lagging those at rivals.
They have suggested the emissions scandal could provide an opportunity for management to force through changes that otherwise might have been resisted by the company’s powerful trade unions, and ultimately boost VW shares.
The cuts mean the company must hold off on construction of a new design center in Volkswagen’s hometown of Wolfsburg, Germany.
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“It will also delay plans for its next Phaeton model, which was slated to be an electric-only model”. It named two new employee representatives to the supervisory board as well, to replace departing ones.
