Volkswagen recall plans rejected by US

The rejected plan was for 2.0 liter vehicles with software that allows them to emit 40 times the legal limit of pollutants.

In a striking blow for Volkswagen, the Californian Air Resource Board (CARB) has sent VW a letter detailing the rejection of a proposed fix on the 2.0-litre TDI diesel engines involved in the world-wide dieselgate scandal. Today, CARB denied that request (PDF), saying that California regulations “require expeditious action” during a recall.

Volkswagen may buy back tens of thousands of cars with diesel engines that can’t be easily fixed to comply with US emissions standards as part of its efforts to satisfy the demands of regulators, according to two people familiar with the matter. Nichols continued, “they need to make it right”. The public-relations gaffe was the latest in a series by Mueller, who has come under criticism for waiting almost four months to meet USA regulators while at times giving the impression that the crisis wasn’t his top priority.

CARB’s decision (PDF) only applies to 75,688 California cars, but this afternoon the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is also demanding that Volkswagen put forth proposals to fix the diesel vehicles caught with so-called defeat devices, agreed with CARB’s decision.

CARB vows to continue working with the EPA on their current investigation in order to get the cars in compliance with emissions requirements as well as to determine a plan to mitigate past and future environmental damage that occurred as a result of the TDIs’ high emissions.

Both CARB and the EPA must approve Volkswagen’s plans before the company can proceed with a recall.

He went on to say that Volkswagen “didn’t lie” when first asked about the discrepancies between test and road emissions in its diesel cars.

In a statement, VW said it was continuing to work with both state and federal regulators and the rejection of its recall plan Tuesday did not mean a recall would not occur.

“Volkswagen has been working on an additional potential fix involving the catalytic converter”, said Rebecca Lindland, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book.

The issue, which extends to 11 million VW, Audi and Porsche 2.0 and 3.0 liter diesel cars worldwide, has severely damaged Volkswagen’s reputation and spawned a host of investigations in several countries. Lindland says “details have not been worked out”.

“If [VW] presents another plan and that’s rejected, we can start to see some real concern”, Lindland added.