“There is a lot we still do not know about Volkswagen’s actions, or their motivations, in attempting to skirt emissions standards”, Upton said, according to a copy of his prepared remarks.
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In the testimony, in which Horn offers “a honest apology for Volkswagen’s use of a program that served to defeat” emissions tests, the executive said, “We have withdrawn the application for certification of our model year 2016 vehicles”. “We will find remedies for our customers, and we will work to ensure that this will never happen again”.
The CEO also says that for thousands of recalled cars, a software fix wouldn’t be enough – and hardware changes would have to be made to get the cars into compliance.
Mr. Horn, sitting alone before the committee with folded hands and a furrowed brow, apologized to lawmakers for Volkswagen’s use of a defeat device, and pledged to cooperate with the committee. In response, the automaker said last month that its software was created to hoodwink emissions tests for diesel vehicles dating back to 2009.
Director of the Office of Transportation and Air Quality at the US Environmental Protection Agency Christopher Grundler on Thursday told a panel of U.S. lawmakers that the German automaker’s cheating measures had serious effects.
His comments echoed recent statements by Volkswagen’s new chief executive, Matthias Mueller, who said that only a few employees at the company had been aware of the cheating. They said the aim of the searches was to “secure documents and data storage devices” that could identify those involved in the alleged manipulation and explain how it was carried out. Instead, he attributed the decision to “a couple of software engineers who put this in for whatever reason”.
Michael Horn was giving evidence in Washington to the House committee on energy and commerce TEAm – Horn speech on Business Scritps or http://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF02/20151008/104046/HHRG-114-IF02-Wstate-HornM-20151008.pdf.
The German auto giant has sunk into the deepest crisis of its history after revealing that it equipped 11 million of its vehicles worldwide with software that switches the engine to a low-emissions mode during tests.
The company’s new chairman, Hans Dieter Pötsch – previously VW’s chief financial officer – said on Wednesday it would take “some time” to get to the bottom of the matter.
Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, asked Horn if he believed that senior level corporate managers had no knowledge of the software, which was first installed on cars for the 2009 model year.
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The prosecution office launched a probe into Volkswagen’s emission scandal in late September after receiving several criminal complaints from citizens. Two EPA officials are expected to testify in the afternoon on the agency’s emissions standards and enforcement role.
