The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday that all 2009-2016 Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche models with three- liter diesel engines contain software that regulators previously alleged to be defeat devices able to dupe emissions tests, a violation of US clean-air law.
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Volkswagen said the safety of the cars in question “is in no way compromised”, adding that it “will endeavor to clarify the further course of action as quickly as possible and ensure the correct Carbon dioxide classification for the vehicles affected” with the responsible authorities.
The company has been battered by the discovery that millions of VW diesel vehicles were sold with “defeat devices” secretly installed – software that allowed the auto to determine when an emissions test was being performed, and reduce performance and emissions to cheat the test.
Bosch is the supplier of EDC17 engine control module and other basic software for almost all the four-cylinder diesel engines that are being sold in North America, which includes all models of Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes Benz. In a recent study, researchers estimated that over the period from 2008 to 2015, those cars pumped out an extra 36.7 million kilograms of NOx emissions.
The disclosure covers a total of 85,000 vehicles, the EPA said, including the diesel 2016 Audi A6 Quattro, A7 Quattro, A8, A8L and Q5; Porsche Cayenne; and Volkswagen Touraeg.
Volkswagen and Audi officials have now come out and stated that more cars and engines from their brands were equipped with the emission tests defeat device.
Analysts have said the scandal could cost the company 40 billion euros or more in fines, lawsuits and vehicle refits.
Based on CARB’s review, VW may be forced to resubmit the draft proposal if it’s inadequate, the California agency said in a statement. “Anything that is not absolutely necessary will be canceled or postponed”, said the automaker’s new CEO Matthias Mueller after a high level meeting Friday.
It’s the first cut in VW’s capital spending since the financial crisis began.
In previous years, the company has published investment plans for several years ahead. Next year the figure will drop to €12 billion ($12.78 billion), the Wall Street Journal reports.
According to an environmental attorney at Sive, Paget & Riesel P.C., Daniel Riesel, the regulators will need to prove that the supplier was aware that their technology was being used by the German automaker for cheating emission scandal.
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Volkswagen responded to the mounting costs from the emissions scandal by halting work on a design center in Germany and a paint shop in Mexico, leaving much of biggest investment budget in the auto industry untouched.
