The US Environmental Protection Agency announced on Monday that the so-called “emissions defeat device” was also used in the 2015 Porsche Cayenne, 2014 VW Touareg, 2016 Audi A6 Quattro, A7 Quattro, A8, A8L and Q5 models powered by the 3.0TDI engine.
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Police and prosecutors swooped in on VW facilities and private homes last month in a dawn raid to gather evidence about who was behind the carmaker’s decision to cheat on diesel emissions tests.
The EPA’s second notice of violation issued to Volkswagen covers 10,000 diesel passenger cars sold in the United States since the model year 2014 and an “unknown volume” of model 2016 cars. October 7: CEO Mueller says the recall of cars with the emissions-rigging software should start in January and that Volkswagen aims to fix them all by the end of next year.
Software in the engines was not installed “in a forbidden manner”, and Volkswagen is cooperating with the EPA to clarify the matter, the Wolfsburg, Germany-based company said in a statement. Diesel-gate has just become petrol-gate, too – and the emissions scandal surrounding the company has grown to include fuel economy.
As it stands, the scandal will affect around 11 million vehicles worldwide, with the number seemingly getting larger with new investigations. The company is now reporting that it has found “irregularities” in the carbon dioxide emissions levels of around 800,000 cars.
The company’s stock plummeted 9.5 percent to $100.45 amid news of the sales halt.
Although VW headquarters in Germany came out swinging against the U.S. EPA’s contention that its 3.0-liter TDI diesel engines contained illegal emission software, Porsche’s USA arm suspended sales of its Cayenne Diesel on Tuesday.
Moody’s Investors Service has cut scandal-stricken automaker Volkswagen’s credit rating as the emissions-rigging furore around the German industrial tycoon continues to deepen. The agency cited “mounting risks to Volkswagen’s reputation and future earnings” from this week’s new developments.
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The government is also working on a legislation to ensure that Volkswagen will be made liable for additional costs through higher taxes and they will not be passed on to the consumers, he said, during a special debate on this issue in the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament. Its lead analyst for VW Yasmina Serghini said: “These new claims pose further challenges to Volkswagen’s financial flexibility and competitive position, and heighten Moody’s concerns about Volkswagen’s internal control and governance issues”.
