What We Learned This Week About The Volkswagen Scandal

Volkswagen did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the Süddeutsche report. “It is inconsistent that the company involved in this emissions issue is also a company that has invested in environmental efforts to reduce the carbon footprint in our factories around the world”.

“As a result, we have withdrawn the application for certification of our model year 2016 vehicles”.

Volkswagen and ŠKODA customers who would like to find out if their vehicle is affected can enter their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) via a link on the relevant brand websites. It then alters how the engine worked so as to produce lower emissions.

Volkswagen’s U.S. CEO would like you to know that he’s not an engineer. Thousands of vehicles already shipped, will be isolated at the ports and Volkswagen dealers will suffer huge losses from it.

Barton expressed disbelief with Horn’s answer, saying he couldn’t believe that no one in management was aware of such an important decision considering “how well run as VW has always been”. It is likely he will insist that cheating was reported to regulators on 3, September, 2015.

In a published statement to the law-makers before the hearing, he admitted that he knew of possible problems as early as Spring 2014.

The company has since lost 40% of its market cap, and shareholders have put huge pressure.

Horn told the House panel that he only learned about the rigged emissions software within the last several weeks and apologized for the use of the defeat device. Mr. Christopher Grundler, who is the head of the EPA, will also testify in front of the Energy and Commerce committee. He acknowledged that to the best of his knowledge, the defeat devices were installed deliberately to skirt tests, because company technology could not keep up with USA and European emission standards.

Grundler added that exposure to such high emissions could have serious health effects, such as increased asthma attacks and other respiratory illnesses.

Stanley Young, a spokesman for the California Air Resources Board said the agency was investigating the nature of the second device but declined to provide specifics because VW’s application “is still pending”.

The cheating has exposed the German automaker to Environmental Protection Agency fines of up to $18 billion, a U.S. Justice Department criminal probe, consumer lawsuits and investigations in Europe.

Volkswagen’s use of defeat devices, software that evaded USA tests for emissions harmful to human health, was not a corporate decision, but something a few employees engineered, Horn said under oath.