USA says more VW cas have emissions-cheating devices

VW has until Friday to submit a draft plan to fix four-cylinder diesels to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board, the two agencies that forced the German automaker to admit to the cheating.

Regulators on November 2 accused VW of putting the software on about 10,000 Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche vehicles with 3-liter engines from the 2014 through 2016 model years.

During a meeting on Thursday, VW and Audi officials told the EPA that the issues extend to all 3-litre diesel engines from model years 2009 to next year.

Volkswagen has denied that the software allows the cars to cheat on emissions tests. Based on this information, EPA and CARB will continue to investigate and take all appropriate action under their respective authorities.

Steiner is expected to conduct talks with regulatory agencies in the US and other markets in regards to the higher nitrogen oxide emissions now believed to have been generated by VW AG cars, as well as the misstated Carbon dioxide figures involving another large group of vehicles.

The company also faces a litany of government investigations and lawsuits, including a U.S. Justice Department criminal probe.

Volkswagen Group will not offer compensation to European customers who bought a diesel vehicle with “cheat” software, taking a different tack from in the US where the automaker will provide a goodwill package worth $1,000 to affected owners. In the US, customers were investing in a niche technology compared with Europe where more than half of new cars sold are diesels, the company argues. If regulators conclude that the devices’ primary goal is to evade emissions tests, they’re considered a defeat device in violation of the law.

The new admission adds about 85,000 new vehicles to the hundreds of thousands in the United States – and millions internationally – subject to the ongoing Volkswagen emissions scandal. “We are fully cooperating with the EPA to clear up all the facts without reservation”. The cars in question were the 2014 Volkswagen Touareg, the 2015 Porsche Cayenne and the 2016…

Brad Stertz, a spokesman for Audi, said the company has admitted that it did not notify the EPA about the extra emissions control equipment.