“Today we are putting vehicle manufacturers on notice that our testing is going to include additional evaluation and tests designed to look for potential defeat devices”.
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The ban – announced on Friday – is on all cars with diesel engines in the Euro 5 emissions category, including VW, Seat, Skoda and other brands in the VW group.
In addition, the EPA also said that it will carry out more spot checks of light-duty cars and trucks, so that vehicles owned by individuals and rental companies are effectively tested in real-world driving conditions.
Perhaps the biggest change for Volkswagen is the fact that Martin Winterkorn has stepped down as CEO, with Porsche brand chief Matthias Mueller stepping up to the plate to lead the company toward a more transparent future.
Chris Grundler, director of the Office of Transportation and Air Quality, said the EPA has 23 portable systems to use for testing.
“We must continue to improve and adapt our oversight, and we will”, said Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation, according to the Washington Post.
The Press Association reported that former Liberal Democrat transport minister Norman Baker has claimed David Cameron delayed imposing new emission limits following a personal request from German Chancellor Angela Merkel in order to protect the German motor industry. If verified, that performance would be worse than the Volkswagen Passat diesel models that were part of the scandal that emerged after the EPA’s findings.
If Volkswagen was able to fool the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board as it did, then it’s entirely possible that they fool the Bay Area firms as well.
The EPA’s Grundler said Volkswagen embedded a sophisticated algorithm within 100 million lines of software code to defeat current emissions test procedures and that regulators aim to root out any so-called “defeat devices”.
The EPA said the cars are safe to drive but VW will have to pay to recall and fix them.
European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said Volkswagen bosses had to fully come clean about the scandal.
Following his appointment, Mueller said that his top priority was to restore the company’s reputation. She “leased the auto specifically for its fuel efficiency and “clean diesel” technology, and paid a premium for it”.
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He also stated other automakers’ vehicles have also been put on random tests to find out if any other gets caught up in a similar scandal. “We observe the legal requirements in each country”.
