Tag

It was beginning to make headway, at last.

MILAN/LONDON Sept 25 (Reuters) – European shares were higher on Friday, rebounding after testing 2015 lows in the previous session, as concern over the global economy eased and a sell-off of auto stocks began to slow.

Last Friday, the EPA issued a citation to Volkswagen for equipping almost 500,000 diesel-powered cars sold since 2009 with software that can detect when the vehicle is undergoing federal testing for smog-forming emissions.

Those events are what is causing massive turmoil with Volkswagen, the disclosure that 11 million diesel vehicles have software embedded in them that allow them to beat emissions certification tests.

Switzerland has banned the sale of Volkswagen cars caught up in the emissions scandal.

As the scandal unfolded, it was revealed that roughly 11 million vehicles globally were emitting toxic nitrogen oxides at a rate up to 40 times beyond American regulations.

BMW’s stock sank 5 percent Thursday after the German magazine Autobild reported that the company’s X3 xDrive polluted at more than 11 times the European standards, which are looser than USA rules.

“We have been informed that also in Europe, vehicles with 1.6 and 2.0 litre diesel engines are affected by the manipulations that are being talked about”.

The USA economy expanded more than previously estimated in the second quarter on stronger consumer spending and construction, the second upward revision in a row.

The German luxury vehicle maker has denied any wrongdoing after claims that its BMW X3 diesel comfortably exceeds European emissions standards under real-world conditions.

Martin Winterkorn resigned from the position earlier this week in the wake of the giant emissions scandal that has left the company in a precarious financial position.

Regulators and prosecutors in several countries are investigating the fake emissions tests.

VW also faces a battle to restore the confidence of customers and motor dealers who have expressed frustration at a lack of information from the company about how they will be affected by the scandal. It will also have to fix software it has said is in some 11 million cars...

The Environmental Protection Agency said 482,000 of the German car-maker’s 2009-15 models in the U.S. were fitted with the defeat device to switch engines to a cleaner mode when they are undergoing official emissions testing.

On Wednesday, VW chief executive Martin Winterkorn resigned, saying he was “stunned that misconduct on such a scale was possible in the Volkswagen group”.