The EPA said today that Volkswagen and Audi officials yesterday admitted that the software that fudges on emissions tests was present on all vehicles powered by the VW group’s 3.0-liter diesel V-6 engine since the 2009 model year. First, it was a problem with a limited number of U.S. vehicles.
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Audi of America communications chief Jeri Ward confirmed that the EPA was informed that the software was used on all 3.0-liter diesels since the 2009 model year.
The company also faces a litany of government investigations and lawsuits, including a U.S. Justice Department criminal probe.
As a result, VW cars could pass the test – then drive off and release up to 40 times more pollution than legally allowed. “You can’t recover from a scandal while it’s still growing”.
When the notice was officially submitted, it was estimated that around 10,000 vehicles in the United States from Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche used the suspect V6 TDI engine.
While Volkswagen has admitted that the illegal devices were on its smaller cars, it has not conceded that they are on the larger engines, despite the EPA’s allegations. According to the agencies, one of the three devices qualifies as a defeat device, she said.
The technology at issue is software that adjusts the temperature of the exhaust system, Ward said.
Audi spokesman Brad Stertz conceded that VW never told regulators about the software, in violation of USA law.
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 influential trade unions, and ultimately boost VW shares.
Use of the defeat devices resulted in excess emissions of nitrogen oxides, a harmful air pollutant and precursor to photochemical smog. EPA officials said VW and Audi officials reversed their initial denial of the charges leveled by the EPA earlier this month during a meeting Thursday. “It’s part of the process of coming to an agreement in the end”.
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Nevertheless, Mueller said the company “would in no case make savings at the expense of our future”, as he promised that the automaker would allocate an extra 100 million euros next year on the development of hybrid and electric engines.
