Matthias Mueller, Volkswagen AG CEO, speaks during a news conference in Wolfsburg, Germany, Friday.
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“What we definitely won’t do is make cuts at the expense of our future”, said Mueller.
California Air Resources Board said that Volkswagen Group of America submitted a recall plan responding to the violations described in ARB’s September 18, 2015 letter to VW concerning illegal defeat devices in their 2-liter diesel-powered vehicles, model years 2009-2015.
That matches the timeline for use of the devices, software that masks high levels of poison gas emissions during tests, on the smaller 2.0 liter Volkswagen engines – the original source of the burgeoning scandal that has overwhelmed the company.
The EPA said in a statement Friday night that VW had turned in its proposed fix, but the agency wouldn’t give details.
Among other things, the company said it would postpone a new design center in Wolfsburg and the introduction of an all-electric Phaeton sedan.
“We are willing to take another crack at reprogramming to a degree that the regulators deem acceptable”, Stertz said.
Any fix would nearly certainly include a recall, with owners being asked to take their cars to dealers for repairs.
Amid fears the emissions scandal could hit sales of diesel vehicles, Mueller said VW would increase spending on alternative technologies such as electric and hybrid vehicles by 100 million euros next year compared with previous targets. Analysts believe that VW could face steeper fines and more intense scrutiny from United States regulators and lawmakers in the near term.
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. VW has told dealers not to sell any of the models until the software is fixed.
An investigation by the EPA found the cars emit up to 40 times the allowable amount of harmful nitrogen oxide while being driven. The cost of reflashing the software is relatively minor, in the “double digits millions of euros”, he added.
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A fix has yet to be announced, but a solution to the problem is likely to either hurt the cars’ fuel economy or their performance on the road. VW also could buy back a few of the older cars, which date to the 2009 model year. Owners also get three years of free 24-hour roadside assistance.
