Volkswagen Says 11 Million Cars hit by Scandal, Probes Multiply

Based on the information available so far, the NEA “understands that the cases reported in the United States pertain to Volkswagen diesel models that are not sold in Singapore”, it said in a statement late Tuesday.

The EPA’s findings cover 482,000 cars including the VW-manufactured Audi A3, and the brand’s own Jetta, Beetle, Golf and Passat models.

The scandal has led to France calling for a Europe-wide probe into the revelations, South Korea summoning Volkswagen officials, and the US Justice Department reportedly launching a criminal investigation.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says Volkswagen could face penalties of up to $18 billion for cheating emissions tests. In a video statement released by Volkswagen, its CEO Martin Winterkorn said, “Everything will be laid on the table, as quickly, thoroughly and transparently as possible, and, to be clear, manipulation and Volkswagen – this must never happen again.”

“The move against VW is going to act as a catalyst to speed up the fall in diesel market share in Europe and halt it in the U.S. “, Bernstein said in a note to clients. In the meantime, the world’s largest automaker has ordered all its USA dealerships to stop selling cars impacted by this investigation. When the vehicle was not being tested it emitted illegal amounts of noxious gas that can cause ozone depletion and respiratory problems.

In the USA , Volkswagen faces a US$37,500 fine for every violation.

In Germany, now hosting the Frankfurt motor show vaunting the industry’s strengths and environmental credentials, the government launched an investigation into whether Volkswagen or other carmakers are doing anything similar in Germany or Europe. Today, Volkswagen said the software is present on 11 million cars worldwide.

European bourses fell sharply on Tuesday on concerns over the global economy, with Volkswagen plunging to four-year lows and dragging down the whole auto sector as investors gauged the implications of an emissions scandal.

“I personally am deeply sorry that we have broken the trust of our customers and the public”. Just how much is hard to say, but any drop in torque-one great thing about diesels is how they accelerate off the line-will not make drivers happy. “What we are dealing with is avoiding people being poisoned by pollution”.

The trade association’s chief executive, Mike Hawes, said: “The EU operates a fundamentally different system to the U.S. – with all European tests performed in strict conditions as required by EU law and witnessed by a government-appointed independent approval agency”.

He said Volkswagen New Zealand would let customers know more as it finds out details from overseas.

“The idea was that in the U.S. , because the emission standards are more stringent, and because both EPA and CARB have a lot of experience and expertise and legal authority to do enforcement, that the vehicles here would be clean”, Mr German said.

Priestley said she has yet to hear from her VW dealership about the issue, and said she’s surprised the company hasn’t moved faster to issue a recall or announce a fix.