Volkswagen cheating software may be on more vehicles says EPA

America’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had said VW software allowed six-cylinder diesel engines to cheat on pollution tests on cars being made a year ago.

VW and Audi officials responded to those concerns and told EPA and CARB that the issues raised in the In-Use Compliance letter extend to all 3.0 liter diesel engines from model years 2009 through 2016. It did not say how many additional cars had the software.

Shares of Volkswagen have been in a strong downtrend ever since the news of the emission scandal broke.

A total of 11 million cars worldwide have the software, though it has not yet been confirmed that it helped cheat on emissions tests outside the U.S.

But during a meeting on Thursday, VW and Audi officials told the EPA that all 3.0-liter diesel engines from model years 2009 through 2016 had higher emissions than allowed.

Investors seem to be focusing on a report by a German magazine that says, without identifying its sources, that fixing the diesel engines that were identified to have test-cheating software could be done with a cheap piece of hardware in Germany.

Earlier on Friday, the supervisory board of VW, Europe’s biggest auto manufacturer, said it would cap spending on property, plant and equipment at around €12 billion ($12.8 billion) next year, down about 8% on its previous plan of around €13 billion.

“What we definitely won’t do is make cuts at the expense of our future”, said Mueller.

Volkswagen has denied that software was installed on the larger diesels “to change the emissions values in any impermissible way” and vowed to cooperate with the EPA. VW said it is cooperating with regulators.

Analysts have said the scandals could cost the company €40 billion or more in fines, lawsuits and vehicle refits.

He said construction of a planned new design center in VW’s home town of Wolfsburg was being put on hold, saving about 100 million euros, while the construction of a paint shop in Mexico was under review.

Later on Friday, VW is due to submit plans to USA regulators for dealing with vehicles affected by its emissions cheating. ARB will also consult with U.S. EPA during this process to develop a national recall plan.