The suits, filed in Maryland, Massachusetts and NY after a nine-month investigation, were announced Tuesday by the state attorneys general.
Advertisement
Volkswagen said in a statement that the states’ claims are not new and the company is already working with state and federal authorities to resolve various issues.
“With today’s action, we want to make clear to all auto manufacturers that violating laws created to protect our environment and our public health is unacceptable and will be punished with significant penalties”, said Healey.
A Volkswagen spokesman told AFP there was “no credible evidence” to support the allegations against Mueller and called into question whether NY and MA authorities had identified the right person.
The states are suing Volkswagen and its affiliates Audi and Porsche over diesel emissions cheating, alleging that the German automakers defrauded customers by selling diesel vehicles equipped with software allowing them to cheat emissions testing. “Schneiderman’s complaint includes many high ranking executives as well as senior management that – if he can tie them in directly through emails or testimony – creates tremendous problems for them and the company as a whole”. Engineers developed a technology that could eliminate traditional clattering noise of engines at start-up but it caused vehicles to exceed European emissions standards.
The carmaker will set aside US$10.033 billion to cover buybacks or fixes for diesel cars and sport utility vehicles that used illegal software to defeat government emissions tests.
German prosecutors said last month that Winterkorn is under investigation.
Three US states have taken legal action against Volkswagen in the wake of the carmaker’s emissions scandal.
The suit does not directly accuse Mr. Müller, who replaced Winterkorn as VW’s chief executive in September, of having specific knowledge of the device, The New York Times reports. The suit is being brought on environmental grounds, claiming the company knowingly polluted the environment. Neither complaint explicitly states that either man knew or authorized the use of the deceptive software.
Schneiderman’s press conference included a blow-up poster of an internal email from Mark Gillies, a spokesman for VW in the U.S.to Oliver Schmidt, director of VW’s environmental and engineering office in August 2004.
VW engineers chose to adopt the Audi technology to meet tough USA emissions standards in 2006, according to the state lawsuits.
Advertisement
The U.S. Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency have not yet reached a deal with Volkswagen on fines as part of separate settlement that could lead to an outside monitor overseeing VW’s compliance with U.S. laws. May sales gains were even stronger, a sign that the automaker is starting to put the diesel scandal behind it. Its U.S. sales have been down 7% in the first half of the year, although the United States accounts for only about 5% of its global sales.
