This adds another 85,000 cars to the total number of affected cars online.
Advertisement
This engine was developed by Audi and is used in the Audi USA models A6, A7, A8, Q5 and Q7 from model year 2009 onwards.
The fix for the 2-liter four-cylinder diesels in cars such as the Audi A3 and the VW Beetle, Golf, Jetta and Passat likely will include software changes and in some models, complex and expensive modifications to the exhaust system.
The estimate is based on a European equivalent of the package offered to North America of three years of roadside assistance, a US$500 prepaid Visa card that can be spent anywhere and another US$500 prepaid Visa card that can be spent at Volkswagen dealerships.
Among other things, AP reports, Volkswagen will postpone the building of a new design centre in Wolfsburg and the introduction of an all-electric Phaeton sedan, and review other projects.
In its statement today, Audi said that it failed to disclose three emissions control software functions, known as auxiliary emissions control devices, to the agencies as required by USA law.
After confirming that several tens of thousands of cars sold in the U.S. with 3.0-liter TDI diesel engines have defeat devices, Volkswagen is now working on submitting the “cure” to the authorities. The bad news is that Volkswagen Group still needs a solution for the bulk of their millions of emissions-cheating vehicles. Europe is chiefly affected by the cheating software with a recall planned for as many as 8.5 million vehicles.
It may also scrap plans for a paint factory in Mexico where it produces Beetle, Jetta and Golf models. “Anything that is not absolutely necessary will be canceled or postponed”, said the automaker’s new CEO Matthias Mueller after a high level meeting Friday.
Advertisement
Volkswagen earlier promised to slash its overall costs by at least EUR10 billion a year by 2018. The fallout from the emissions scandal led to a severe backlash for the German auto manufacturer and according to auto analysts VW could face a collective bill as high as 35 billion Euros in fines, lawsuits and vehicle refits. As the same time, the manufacturer’s sales are under pressure, falling last month particularly at its Volkswagen brand. The loan, expected to close by the end of this week, is apparently meant to reinforce VW’s balance sheet and ease concerns about the company’s creditworthiness.
