The greatest number of affected vehicles utilize Audi’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel. “We are committed to making this right and preventing it from ever happening again”.
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Cars fitted with some diesel engines produced by the company were equipped with a secret engine management mode that allowed cars to meet emissions standards during government testing, before returning to a normal mode that emits much more pollution during regular driving. About 11 million VW diesel cars built since 2008 are affected by the scandal.
The news comes as reports suggest the R&D chief of Audi, along with those of Volkswagen’s core passenger auto division and sports vehicle maker Porsche, is reported to have been put on leave.
According to German media reports at the weekend, Volkswagen ignored warnings from staff and a supplier years ago that the emission test rigging software was illegal.
On Monday, Audi said that 2.1 million of its cars were among those involved in the VW scandal.
Several parties – apparently even including VW themselves – have raised official complaints about the matter to prosecutors in Braunschweig, near the company’s headquarters in Wolfsburg.
Pon, the Dutch importer of Volkswagens, Audis, SEATs and Skodas, says in a statement that the temporary sales halt applies to 4,100 cars that its dealers still have in stock.
About 1.4 million vehicles are affected in Western Europe, including 577 000 in Germany alone, and the fraud affects 13,000 cars in the United States, said a spokesman of Audi.
Michael Horn, chief executive officer of the Volkswagen brand in the USA, reminded owners of diesel cars that violate clean air rules that their vehicles are safe to drive while a fix is being pursued.
However, it said that the gap between lab results and road performance had grown for emissions of carbon dioxide, as well as nitrogen oxides, to such an extent that further investigation was needed to discover what carmakers were doing to mask carbon dioxide emissions. USA authorities could in theory impose up to $18 billion penalties for breaching the emission limits.
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Its consumer goods expert, Bozena Michalowska-Howells, criticised the manufacturer for its ” woeful lack of clarity” over which cars and countries are affected.
