US regulators rejected Volkswagen AG’s plan for recalling almost 500,000 diesel-powered cars, raising the tension ahead of a meeting Wednesday between the company and federal officials.
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The California Air Resources Board (CARB) today rejected the recall plan by Volkswagen Group of America for its 2-litre diesel passenger vehicles sold in the state between 2009 and 2015.
As a response, VW CEO Matthias Mueller has flown to the USA to meet chief of the Environmental Protection Agency, Gina McCarthy. VW said it would present a reworked plan at the meeting in Washington.
CARB says the Volkswagen recall plan fell short in several areas. Third, the proposed plans do not sufficiently address impacts on the engine, the vehicle’s overall operation, and all related emission control technologies, including the OBD (On-Board Diagnostics) system.
The proposal for fixing the 3.0-liter diesel engines also affected, is not scheduled for evaluation by the CARB until February 2016. “They continued and compounded the lie, and when they were caught they tried to deny it”.
The CARB and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have accused the German automaker of installing “defeat devices” on about 482,000 diesel vehicles since 2008.
“We feel personally responsible for keeping our promises to the American people about the benefits that our (emissions) standards are going to create for our society and everyone who breathes in it”, Grundler said. “We obviously have a keen interest in getting their legal issues solved so they can go back to selling cars”, Mr Haslam, whose state is home to a VW factory, said on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show.
Volkswagen hasn’t commented on the CARB’s announcement. “However, California recall regulations require expeditious action, and VW’s proposed extension is not acceptable”. After apologizing on behalf of Volkswagen, he confirmed that VW will be discussing with the EPA tomorrow on a possible solution for the diesel emissions problem. The EPA is pursuing its own enforcement actions against the company.
McCarthy said last week that the agency hasn’t reached any agreement with VW after three months of discussions, and that she’s anxious to bring VW into compliance with the Clean Air Act.
NPR: You said this was a technical problem, but the American people feel this is not a technical problem, this is an ethical problem that’s deep inside the company.
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The agency said it will continue its investigation as well as discussions with Volkswagen to find an acceptable solution.
