Swedish prosecutors launch criminal investigation related to emissions scandal at Volkswagen

California sent VW a confidential letter offering a detailed explanation of why its proposed solution, or fix, does not work.

The California Air Resources Board says it’s been conducting its own investigation into the vehicles’ diesel emissions, in parallel with a federal inquiry.

Sweden’s National Unit Against Corruption said the preliminary investigation was regarding serious fraud and the keeping of false records.

Volkswagen submitted a fix plan for the diesels to CARB and the Environmental Protection Agency late a year ago, but it has yet to release the details on that plan to the public. Since then, Volkswagen has had constructive discussions with CARB, including last week when we discussed a framework to remediate the TDI emissions issue. The NOV outlines thirteen different violations of California regulations related to Dieselgate, and is in addition to the NOV the EPA already issued in September 2015.

A Volkswagen source told Reuters that the company is struggling to agree with authorities in the US on a technical solution for some 482,000 faulty VW and Audi models.

“Today’s announcement addresses the initial recall plans Volkswagen submitted to CARB in December”, VW said in an emailed response to the announcement.

Muller’s first US tour – in which he repeatedly apologized for the emissions scandal – has not gone as planned and has come under criticism for comments he made in a USA radio interview in which he denied VW officials lied in evading emissions rules.

“We are determined to reignite America’s love for Volkswagen”, said Herbert Diess, chairman of the Volkswagen brand, on the opening day of the Detroit auto show.

In addition to the 2.0L cars affected, VW has also admitted to using the software in some of its vehicles with 3.0-liter diesel engines.

The state said VW’s proposed fix was “incomplete, substantially deficient and falls far short of meeting the legal requirements”.

The so-called defeat devices turn on pollution controls when the cars are undergoing testing, and off when they are back on the road, allowing them to spew out illegal of toxic nitrogen oxides. VW has a major assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.