VW halts sales of 3.0-liter V6 diesels in U.S., Canada

On Monday, United States authorities also alleged that VW had fitted nitrogen oxide defeat devices on 3.0 litre diesel engines used in Porsche, Audi and VW vehicles – a claim VW denied.

Audi sent an advisory that was acquired by AutoNews to their U.S. dealerships ordering the stop sale of the 2013-2015 Q7 and the 2014-2016 A6, A7, A8, A8L and Q5 models that are equipped with the 3.0-litre diesel engine. An Audi spokesperson stated they are determining how many of their vehicles are effected by the new development. The company said late Tuesday that the new finding could add at least 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) to the 6.7 billion euros already set aside for repairs.

The admission about fuel consumption was the first that threatened to make a serious dent in VW’s sales since the scandal erupted as it could deter cost-conscious consumers, analysts said.

The company has lost about a third of its stock value since its pollution scandal broke. Just as the group was looking to get its act together, roping in the likes of accountancy firm Deloitte and law firm Jones Day to dig deeper into the dieselgate scandal, more bad news has emerged. “Public trust is at stake here”, EC spokeswoman Lucia Caudet said. “We need all the facts on the table”.

The Commission has enforcement powers to ensure that manufacturers respect their obligations in terms of carbon dioxide emissions, including the possibility of imposing fines.

Regulators are saying that the company made use of a defeat device for tricking regulators to believe the cars were compliant when the vehicles were emitting harmful pollutants as much as 9 times what was acceptable.

“VW has once again failed its obligation to comply with the law that protects the air for all Americans”, said Cynthia Giles, EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. While the vehicles are legal and safe to drive, VW will have to eventually recall them to bring them into compliance. So far, the scandal had only affected diesel engines.

Standard & Poor’s, for its part, didn’t downgrade Volkswagen Wednesday, but issued a note reiterating its negative outlook.

The latest revelation adds to the pressure on Volkswagen’s new chief executive officer, Matthias Mueller, who replaced Martin Winterkorn and was previously head of Porsche.