Audi Issues Stop-Sale on Diesel Vehicles

Volkswagen in a response Monday took issue with the EPA’s findings, saying that “no software has been installed” in its 3.0-liter V6 diesel engines “to alter emissions characteristics in a forbidden manner”.

The Audi stop-sale order encompasses 2014 through 2016 A6, A7, A8, and Q5 models equipped with the 3.0-liter V6 diesel engine, as well as 2013 through 2015 Q7 diesels.

Volkswagen claimed it was ceasing sales not because the vehicles contained the cheating devices, but because it wanted to ensure that it fully understood the EPA’s regulations.

“VW is leaving us all speechless”, said Arndt Ellinghorst of banking advisory firm Evercore ISI after the disclosure about the smaller engines.

Investors wiped another 4 billion euros (2.85 billion pounds) off Volkswagen’s market value after fresh admissions from the carmaker threatened to make a serious dent in vehicle sales for the first time since a test-cheating scandal erupted.

It was not immediately clear whether the 800,000 vehicles announced Tuesday with the newly discovered carbon dioxide emission problems were among those already affected. The software would reduce emissions when the auto was placed on a test stand, and then allow higher emissions during normal driving.

The levels of Carbon dioxide emissions by vehicles in Europe are tied to the level of their taxation at the time of purchase per European Union regulations, with VW AG estimating its financial exposure as a result of these discrepancies at 2 billion euros, which is approximately $2.2 billion.

“This new notice of violation concerns the last generation of diesel engines and more widely affects Volkswagen’s premium brands – Audi and Porsche – which are top contributors to Volkswagen’s profitability”, Moody’s said. In addition, the carbon dioxide emissions issue could cost the company two billion euros ($2.2 billion).

Until now, the scandal has mainly focused on nitrogen oxide emissions from VW group diesel engines, while petrol engines were believed to be unaffected.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen is recalling almost 92,000 cars in the U.S.to fix mechanical problems that can knock out the power-assisted brakes.

VW has acknowledged that software that shuts off smog-reducing equipment during regular driving but turns it on during regulatory tests was installed on 11 million vehicles.