Volkswagen’s efforts to end its ordeal caused by the diesel emissions scandal is not going as planned.
As a matter of fact, it’s been reported that the fix for the affected cars resulted in higher, instead of lower, fuel consumption and, thus, emissions.
In order to fix its 8.5 million VW, Audi, Skoda and Seat models that are fitted with the so called “defeat device” on the 2.0-liter TDI, the company started recalls in January as a first stage in a Europe-wide action. According to German media, during the second wave of recalls, 160,000 WV Passat midsize models have been halted due to a rise in fuel consumption following changes to the engine.
Nevertheless, a VW spokesperson told Automotive News that these claims were just “speculation”, stating that authorities are still checking whether or not the change affects CO2 emissions and fuel consumption.
“We have to guarantee that noise and especially CO2 emissions are exactly the same as before the fix.”
As explained by the official, the recall was delayed due to the Federal Motor Transport Authority’s (KBA) implication, as the organization hasn’t concluded the checks and decided to replace VW’s engineers with independent adjudicators part way through the testing process to ensure “exactness in the testing process”.
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