Volkswagen emissions scandal deepens as auto manufacturer admits it involves

Audi, VW and Porsche halted sales of new models powered by the 3.0-liter diesels earlier this month in response to the EPA allegations.

VW faces investigations around the world, including from the U.S. Justice Department – and could face up to $18 billion in US fines.

The EPA and the California Air Resources Board said the German automaker acknowledged the software is on about 85,000 Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche vehicles with 3-liter engines going back to the 2009 model year.

Earlier in November, the regulators blamed the VW for installing the cheating software on around 10,000 vehicles of 2014-2016 model.

That matches the timeline for use of the devices, software that masks high levels of poison gas emissions during tests, on the smaller 2.0 liter Volkswagen engines – the original source of the burgeoning scandal that has overwhelmed the company.

America’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had said VW software allowed six-cylinder diesel engines to cheat on pollution tests on cars being made previous year. The EPA and CARB now will review the proposal, the statement said.

Audi spokesman Brad Stertz on Friday conceded that VW never told regulators about the software, in violation of USA law.

“So we agreed to take all of the 3-liter diesel engines, look at the software, recalibrate it and then we’ll resubmit it to the agencies so they’re comfortable with how it’s performing and what it’s doing”, Stertz said.

The software is on Audi Q7 and Volkswagen Touareg SUVs from the 2009 through 2016 model years, as well as the Porsche Cayenne from 2013 to 2016. Audi and Volkswagen apparently followed suit, telling dealers to hold models that are now the subject of EPA scrutiny, according to Automotive News (subscription required). The agencies are also testing the vehicles to determine whether the equipment qualifies as so-called “defeat devices”, which the company has already admitted it installed on up to 11 million diesel cars worldwide to cheat emissions standards.

Stertz said it would cost in the “double-digit” millions of euros to reprogram all the software on the six-cyilnder diesels. An unknown number of 2016 models with the 3.0-liter diesel also contain the software. Another wouldn’t harm performance but would require a clumsy tank to store the chemical urea, which is used to treat nitrogen oxide in the exhaust system.

Volkswagen cut one billion euros ($1.1 billion) from its investment plan for next year on Friday, as the German carmaker braces for a multi-billion-euro hit from its emissions cheating scandal.