The next chapter of the VW emissions scandal is unfolding with VW, Audi and Porsche discontinuing sales of certain models equipped with 3-litre V6 diesel engines in the US and the reveal that CO2 emission figures might also be rigged.
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. Until then, the ‘dieselgate’ scandal involved only models equipped with the EA 189 diesel engines.
Volkswagen denied the accusations, but they said that they will fully cooperate with the EPA in order to clarify this issue entirely. Porsche, which had also denied the existence of the trick software on the V6 TDI, announced the stop sale of Cayenne Diesel models, saying that they reached that decision voluntarily “in view of the unexpected U.S. EPA notice received”.
Porsche said in their statement that they are “working intensively to resolve this matter as soon as possible. Customers may continue to operate their vehicles normally.”
Audi sent an advisory that was acquired by AutoNews to their US dealerships ordering the stop sale of the 2013-2015 Q7 and the 2014-2016 A6, A7, A8, A8L and Q5 models that are equipped with the 3.0-litre diesel engine. Volkswagen did the same with the 2014 VW Touareg, according to Reuters.
The Volkswagen Group also announced yesterday that during their internal investigations, they found ‘irregularities’ on the way of measuring type approval CO2 levels, involving some petrol models for the first time.
“Under the ongoing review of all processes and workflows in connection with diesel engines it was established that the CO2 levels and thus the fuel consumption figures for some models were set too low during the CO2 certification process. The majority of the vehicles concerned have diesel engines,” said Volkswagen.
This new revelation could affect around 800,000 models of the VW Group, sold mainly in Europe, and could cost the company around two billion euros, according to an initial estimate. Volkswagen also promised that they “will do everything in its power to clarify the further course of action as quickly as possible and ensure the correct CO2 classification for the vehicles affected”.
The German government said that they will retest all VW Group models to measure their real CO2 levels, with the Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt saying that all current models sold under the VW, Audi, Skoda and Seat brands, with both petrol and diesel engines, will be tested again for CO2 and NOx emissions, Reuters reported.
Dobrindt also said that about 200,000 of the 800,000 vehicles involved are in Germany and that he will force the company to pay for the extra car taxes that will come from the higher emissions.