The California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have rejected Volkswagen’s plan to fix over 500,000 cars that contain illegal emissions “defeat devices”.
Advertisement
“First, VW fails to describe the nonconformities in sufficient detail for CARB to adequately understand them in the context of the recall plans, in order to determine whether the proposed fixes are feasible or would remedy each of the nonconformities”, CARB stated in a public letter to VW.
“The descriptions of proposed repairs lack enough information for a technical evaluation”.
The Washington, D.C.-based EPA backed CARB’s verdict.
“Volkswagen made a decision to cheat on emissions tests and then tried to cover it up”. The carmaker “continued and compounded the lie, and when they were caught they tried to deny it”, Nichols added on Tuesday.
This was a very extreme situation in which this interview took place. With billions of dollars mounting in federal fines, and no clear plan on the table as to how to address the ongoing emissions problems of those vehicles still on the road, the rejection of its proposal to shore up the damage may be the least of VW’s problems.
The EPA said Wednesday after Mueller left that it “appreciated the conversation with Volkswagen”, but gave no details on his discussion with McCarthy.
“We will continue to work toward a solution”, the spokeswoman said. The tier will include company CEO Matthias Müller and Gina McCarthy ─ administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency.
NPR: Because Volkswagen, in the U.S., intentionally lied to EPA regulators when they asked them about the problem before it came to light. “We obviously have a keen interest in getting their legal issues solved so they can go back to selling cars”, Haslam, whose state is home to a VW factory, said in a Reuters interview on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show.
The automaker said in a statement that it is in talks to find a solution, and said the rejection addresses the initial recall plans submitted to California in December.
He said regulators will continue to “insist on an expeditious fix that will not only bring these vehicles into compliance but also do so in a way that doesn’t create any adverse impacts for owners”, Grundler said.
An estimated 325,000 of the 482,000 affected 2.0-liter TDI models do not have Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) emissions control systems.
Advertisement
Fixes prescribed for Europe haven’t translated into US approval because of the tougher emissions standards in North America, which is the reason why Volkswagen began cheating in the U.S.in the first place. The submission of the recall plan for the is due to CARB on February 2.
