California Air Resources Board spokesman Dave Clegern said Audi admitted that the vehicles had auxiliary emissions control equipment that was not disclosed to the USA government.
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In the meantime, U.S. Senators Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) issued a call late last week for Volkswagen to buy back the affected vehicles, citing such a program in the European Union for Volkswagen vehicles whose greenhouse-gas emissions were understated. Volkswagen had then disputed the software was able to defeat emissions tests.Volkswagen on Thursday told government officials the disputed software is on all 2009-2016 three-liter diesel models, regulators said.
Audi spokesman Brad Stertz on Friday conceded that VW never told regulators about the software, in violation of U.S. law. However, it is yet unknown how many 2016 vehicles are affected.
The cut in capital spending is VW’s first since the height of the financial crisis in 2009.
Audi spokeswoman Jeri Ward acknowledged that the 3.0-liter software at issue “meets (EPA and CARB’s) definition of a defeat device”.
But whatever VW are calling it, it means there are a few 85,000 cars running round the United States – like the VW Touareg, Porsche Cayenne, Audi A6, Audi A7, Audi A8 and Audi Q5 – from 2009-2016 MY fitted with a 3.0 litre diesel engine which emits up to nine times the legal levels of NOx in the real world. The cost of reflashing the software is relatively minor, in the “double digits millions of euros”, he added.
He said that VW would increase spending on alternatively fuelled vehicles – such as hybrids and electric cars – by €100m next year.
The company explains the decision by saying that compensation for U.S. owners of the affected diesel models are more justified as they bought a auto marketed as a “clean diesel.”, and the customers were attracted by such a technology, as they mainly prefer gasoline powered engines, compared to Europe where more than half of new sold cars are diesels. Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said in a statement: “We are operating in uncertain and volatile times and are responding to this”. That is the message Volkswagen is sending to European owners of their cars that have been implicated in the massive emissions test cheating scandal.
VW says it would “fully cooperate with EPA and CARB as we work to develop an approved remedy as quickly as possible” for the 2.0-litre diesel engine.
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“We will strictly prioritize all planned investments and expenditures…”
