VW Accused Of More Cheating, 1.2-Liter TDI Diesel Now Under Fire

According to German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, some 370,000 VW Group diesel vehicles could be either recalled or pulled off the road in Europe if Germany’s transport regulator (KBA) finds the automaker responsible of further software manipulation.

The issue is now with the 1.2-liter TDI diesel unit, despite VW giving out assurances back in 2016 that this engine did not employ any illegal emissions cheating devices, as reported by Automotive News Europe.

Still, prosecutors are preparing charges against currently unnamed VW managers for suspected fraud, although the case is still being investigated and hearings are to be held in the coming week. Meanwhile, a VW spokesman stated that internal quality controls for models equipped with the 1.2-liter diesel engine, the EA189, had revealed irregularities that are now being analyzed.

He added that the automaker has informed authorities and that continuous contact is being maintained.

Before building this case, the KBA was considering forcing 30,000 affected cars off the road, although further recalls would have been the most likely scenario.

As of right now, the VW Group has had to recall hundreds of thousands of cars around the world, ever since admitting to utilizing illegal software in diesel engines to cheat emissions tests back in September 2015. Since then, the automaker bought back and fixed almost 90% of affected cars globally, according to CEO Herbert Diess, who recently stated that most of his company’s legal issues have been settled.