The Volkswagen Group is likely to have to recall a further 85,000 vehicles worldwide, as VW's US arm has admitted its 3.0-litre TDI V6 engines found in cars built from 2009 to 2016 also contain software programmes that were initially hidden from the government testers. The firm has admitted that the Volkswagen Group’s 3.0-litre diesel engines, fitted in premium cars like the Audi A6, A7, A8 and SUVs like the Q5, Q7, Porsche Cayenne and VW’s Touareg, come with an auxiliary emissions control device that improves emissions figures in official tests. An Audi spokesman has since confirmed the auxiliary device does not violate European law, but should have been disclosed to US authorities.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) previously stated the Group’s 3.0-litre TDI engines also contained the 'defeat device' that sparked the VW emissions scandal, but VW quickly denied these claims. The VW Group has now moved to underline the difference between the auxiliary control device in the 3.0 TDI cars, and the defeat device found in the EA 189 engines. The former is used to heat up the pollution-control catalyst faster than normal so it operates more effectively. Audi spokesman Brad Stertz said: "We are willing to take another crack at reprogramming to a degree that the regulators deem acceptable." Stertz also said the cost of tweaking the software is in the "double digits millions of Euros." Volkswagen bosses may face prison time, according to Transport Secretary Bosses from the VW Group in the UK could face up to 10 years in prison if prosecuted for their role in the diesel emissions scandal, according to Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin.
In a letter to the Transport Select Committee, McLoughlin said there are several legal routes available including prosecution for falsely supplying information for type approval, misleading actions and omissions and fraud. The most serious of these would mean prosecution by the Serious Fraud Office for false representation under the 2006 Fraud Act which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. McLoughlin confirmed an investigation is underway and further announcements would be made once the evidence had been assessed. At the same time, VW Group has announced it's cutting €1billion from its "investment activities", lowering its spend from €13bn a year to €12bn. A new design centre in Wolfsburg and paintshop in Mexico have been put on hold, as well as the successor to the Phaeton luxury saloon, which was intended to be an all-electric model. Some €100 million of the savings from projects will be ploughed into alternative drivetrain research next year, including the development of electric systems. False mpg and CO2 figures on 800,000 cars Over half of the 800,000 cars found with false mpg and CO2 figures have been identified as 2016 models by VW’s own internal investigation.
The 430,000 vehicles include models from Audi, SEAT, Skoda and Volkswagen, and the Group has released a list (pdf link) detailing all of the models affected. This was the first time VW admitted its Euro 6 compliant engines have been manipulated, and the first time the Group’s frugal 3-cylinder petrol and diesel engines are drawn into the scandal. From the list it is also evident that Group cars with TSI or TFSI petrol, or TDI diesel engines with 1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, and 2.0-litre capacities are involved – widening the scandal further. The Group has confirmed it is working with the German Federal Vehicle and Transport Authority (KBA) on the solution, and owners will be able to check whether their vehicle is one of the ones involved through online portals. Volkswagen has also admitted it is in talks with financial and fiscal authorities of several countries so that “all taxes arising in direct relation to the CO2 issue are charged straight to the Volkswagen Group and not to the customers.” VW emissions cheat software may not be illegal in EU tests While VW has admitted to tampering CO2 and fuel economy figures on 800,000 cars, it looks as if the Group has not actually broken European emissions law.
A loophole in EU emissions regulation looks to have allowed VW to build cars with the software device, as minutes from the 2012 meeting of the EU type approval authorities state: “The legislation does not clearly state the criteria by which the Type Approval authority may judge the validity of engine settings ‘prescribed by the manufacturer’ for the Type I test and there is a concern that, to give good emissions/fuel consumption results, a manufacturer could specify a special setting that is not normally used for everyday driving.” A letter from VW UK’s boss, Paul Willis, to the House of Commons Transport Committee confirmed the KBA does not see the tech as cheating on EU tests. He said: “I would now like to share with you that we have just recieved confirmation that the KBA does not regard the use of this technology in the EU as problematic and thus as being in line with current legislation.” The Volkswagen emissions scandal first broke out in September 18 2015 with the revelations that VW had fitted a ‘defeat device’ to its EA 189 engine models to cheat US emissions tests.
Since then, a chain reaction has rocked the VW Group and the wider industry to its core, as 11million VW Group vehicles with 1.2, 1.6, and 2.0-litre EA 189 diesel engines were confirmed to contain the rogue software. Over 1.1million vehicles are affected in the UK alone. The VW Group has set aside £4.7billion to cover the damaging effects of the emissions scandal but it may face a further £2billion in costs after an internal investigation found that mpg fuel economy and CO2 emissions ratings for 800,000 other vehicles were also manipulated by engineers. This subsequent discovery implicated Volkswagen Group petrol-engined cars in the scandal for the first time, originally the 1.4-litre engine with 'cylinder-on-demand' technology but now a range of petrol and diesel units. VW is facing legal allegations from a number of sources and has said it will pay for any extra taxes faced by owners who find their car's emissions levels being officially reclassified. Owners of affected VW vehicles in the US are set to receive $1,000 (£662) as an initial form of compensation, but UK and EU owners are unlikely to receive anything, as the Group has confirmed it did not cheat in EU testing.
VW 'loyalty bonus' offered to stop sales slide:
Volkswagen's UK car sales were down 9.84 per cent in October compared to the same period last year - suggesting that customers are losing faith in the brand following the emissions scandal. Sales of sister brands Skoda and SEAT are also down - and the VW Group is reportedly attributing the fall to the damaging events of recent weeks. Audi sales appear to be unaffected but some brands unconnected to the VW emissions scandal including Ford and Vauxhall have also suffered sales dips. This is potentially a result of uncertainty among consumers in the wake of the emissions scandal revelations. To boost sales, Volkswagen UK will offer 'loyalty bonus' discounts to existing owners or their family members registered at the same address buying a new VW. Cash incentives range from £400 off a new up! to £1,500 off the Sharan or Touareg, over and above other incentives, a spokesman has confirmed. Are other engines affected? The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its European counterparts have questioned the legality of further engines in the VW line-up, suggesting 3.0-litre TDI engines, and models fitted with EA 288 engines were also built with the defeat device on board. Volkswagen and the German KBA authority have denied the allegations surrounding the EA 288 engines, stating that no malevolent software is or has been present. But the Group has admitted its 3.0-litre TDI V6 units found in model years 2009 through 2016 do come with an auxiliary control device that should have been cleared with US authorities. VW’s new Euro 6 engines have also been confirmed not to contain the defeat device, and remain legal under European law. Although, as reported above, there are issues with the mpg and CO2 ratings on these cars.
Three-point plan to recall UK's dieselgate cars.
In the UK, the VW Group is looking to implement a three-stage plan to recall and repair all 1.2 million vehicles affected by the end of 2016. The Group is currently working with the German Motor Industry Federation (KBA) to approve a permanent fix to the emissions crisis - with the first round of recalls expected to start in early 2016. VW's UK boss Paul Willis has confirmed the 1.2-litre and 2.0-litre diesel engines will require a software fix, while vehicles with a 1.6-litre diesel will also need new injectors fitted. This means around 400,000 UK cars would require mechanical changes. Speaking before the House of Commons' select committee, Willis failed to answer questions relating to whether or not UK owners would be compensated but transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has since urged VW to consider compensation for affected motorists who face falling residual values on their cars. While UK vehicles may get by with software tweaks and injector swaps, vehicles in US and will likely need physical changes to the catalytic converters and the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) AdBlue urea injection systems to pass the strict North American emissions criteria.
• Exclusive: car makers 'can't meet' Euro6 emissions targets VW Group recall:
Numbers of UK cars affected The VW Group has said that the following quantities of UK vehicles are set for a recall:
• VW passenger cars - 508,276
• Audi - 393,450 • SEAT - 76,773
• Skoda - 131,569
• VW commercial vehicles - 79,838
