It doesn’t apply to cars now in production with “euro 6” engines, which aren’t affected by the emissions scandal.
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In Europe meanwhile, auto giant Volkswagen searched Thursday for a new chief to steer it out of a global pollution cheating storm, as suspicions over diesel vehicle emissions spread for the first time to fellow German manufacturer BMW.
“When there is a fraud, this is a huge threat to institutional and retail-investor confidence”, he said.
The company says Michael Horn will remain as president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, but its U.S, Canada and Mexico markets will be “combined and significantly strengthened” to form a new “North America region”.
The commission also said it has asked for the issue to be discussed by national economy and industry ministers at their next meeting on October. 1. Volkswagen has admitted to installing software designed to circumvent regulations by turning on full emissions controls only when the auto detects it’s being tested. Because if more automakers are cheating their way through emissions tests, it means our air and planet are in worse shape than we think.
Some investors said they were positive on the longer-term outlook for European shares given signs of economic improvement and stimulus measures from the European Central Bank.
Work began on developing more realistic road tests four years ago, with the EU’s Joint Research Centre devising a completely new method to do this.
“All cars must complete a standard emissions test, which, unlike in the United States, is independently witnessed by a government-appointed independent agency”, said the SMMT.
The scandal exploded on Friday when U.S. officials publicly accused the company of cheating and launched a probe.
It was claimed that VW spent the past seven years falsifying emissions data on its vehicles in the U.S.to pretend to the authorities that its cars were cleaner than they are. VW later acknowledged that similar software exists in 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide.
Volkswagen (VLKAY) is also under huge pressure to provide more details about whether European tests were also deliberately manipulated, and to identify who was responsible for the misconduct.
The Greer-made BMW X3 xDrive 20d produced 11 times the emissions standard limits set by the European Union, according to a German magazine.
The European Parliament’s environment committee is voting on legislation on Wednesday that aims to reduce pollutant emissions from road vehicles. Is Volkswagen alone in this unprecedented scandal, or is the German manufacturer just the tip of the iceberg? Delrio, citing a “problem of health, trust”, said the truth must be established.
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“This could well lead to one of the largest group claims ever in this country against Volkswagen for the way in which consumers may have been misled in relation to their vehicle”.
