Washington lawmakers grilled Volkswagen’s (VLKAY) U.S. CEO Michael Horn about the automaker’s emissions fraud during a hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday.
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What might be worse than Horn simply pointing his finger at a group of software engineers was him insisting that he was unaware of Volkswagen cheating on USA emissions tests previous year, even though the Journal reports that he heard of emissions-compliance issues as early as spring of 2014.
Many will ignore the recall since this is not a safety issue and, save for a tiny number of USA states, they are not obligated to have their vehicle fixed as part of a recall.
Director of the Office of Transportation and Air Quality at the US Environmental Protection Agency Christopher Grundler on Thursday told a panel of USA lawmakers that the German automaker’s cheating measures had serious effects.
“We do not believe a software only solution will be possible”, Horn said.
It said under normal circumstances, carmakers are allowed to use the auxiliary emissions control devices under deals negotiated with regulators that provide for higher emissions in very specific circumstances.
“This was a couple of software engineers who put this in for whatever reason”, Horn said, speaking under oath. He conceded it could take years to retrofit 430,000 diesel vehicles in the USA alone.
Knowing that any alterations to the emissions system could cause a change in horsepower and fuel economy, Mr. Horn told committee members Volkswagen would consider a buy-back program for all affected vehicles. “We have broken the trust of our customers, dealerships, employees as well as the public and the regulators”, he said. Barton, a Texas Republican, said that he and other conservatives have had questions about the emission standards that VW violated.
The company has previously said that, while the software was installed in around 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide, it was not active in the majority of them.
The Guardian reported on Wednesday that Horn was made privy to the company’s cheating as early as past year.
The CEO of Volkswagen Group of America apologised for the software that was installed in its diesel vehicles to deceive environmental regulators, but he said a handful of “individuals” were responsible for the trickery.
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The shocking revelations have wiped more than 40 percent off Volkswagen’s market capitalization, but the direct and indirect costs are still incalculable as the company risks fines in several countries and possible damages from customers’ lawsuits.
