U.S. says more VW cas have emissions-cheating devices

The disclosure widened the scandal, which had previously focused mainly on smaller-engined, mass-market cars, and raised the possibility that engineers at both the Audi and VW brands could have been involved in separate emissions schemes. Volkswagen will be forced to recall all the affected cars worldwide.

Europe’s largest auto maker has halted sales of all those vehicles in the US amid discussions with regulators, a company spokeswoman said. The EPA had already accused the automaker of installing the defeat-device software on about 10,000 3-liter SUVs and luxury cars from 2014 to 2016.

CARB had said earlier Friday that another 75,000 VW, Audi and Porsche diesels with three-litre engines from the 2009-2016 model years were equipped with suspicious software. Additional VW and Porsche models weren’t available Friday afternoon, but initially the EPA said it also was on the 2014 VW Touareg and 2015 Porsche Cayenne.

Own a Volkswagen diesel engine fitted with so-called “defeat devices” and want to be compensated in a similar fashion to North American buyers, but live on the other side of the Atlantic?

“The most unfortunate aspect of this news, in addition to the environmental harm, is that it slows VW’s ability to move beyond the negative headlines and start the rebuilding process”, said Karl Brauer, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book, a car-buying website.

The cutbacks represent the latest financial fallout from Volkswagen’s admission this year that about 11 million diesel vehicles contained special software created to deceive emissions tests. Earlier this month, the EPA alleged that certain models using the automaker’s 3.0-liter turbodiesel V-6 engine also contained defeat device software.

And a statement from the EPA obtained by industry paper Automotive News combined with comments from Audi of America spokesman Jeri Ward, suggests Volkswagen has given the Agency no reason to avoid such investigations.

When those same vehicles were being driven under normal conditions, the controls were turned off and they spewed up to 40 times the legally allowable amount of nitrogen oxide, which contributes to the formation of smog and acid rain.

The EPA and CARB said that it would now review the proposal.