Volkswagen used devices to cheat air pollution tests in diesel luxury vehicles, US environmental regulators said on Monday, in a new blow to the automaker already reeling from similar allegations regarding millions of smaller diesel engines.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it is now looking at 3-liter V6 diesel engines used mostly in larger, more expensive models, like the Porsche Cayenne sport utility vehicle (SUV), in addition to engines on Jettas, Passats and other mass-market models whose test-deceiving software were initially targeted by the agency in mid-September.
Volkswagen took issue with the EPA’s findings, saying that “no software has been installed” in its 3-liter V6 diesel engines “to alter emissions characteristics in a forbidden manner.”
Photo: Reuters
The V6 diesel was designed by Volkswagen’s Audi unit and widely used in premium models sold by Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche in model years 2014 through 2016.
The move pulls Porsche and Audi deeper into the scandal that has already engulfed corporate parent Volkswagen and its mass-market Volkswagen brand, shaving nearly 20 billion euros (US$22 billion) off its market capitalization.
On the road, emissions of the smog-causing pollutant nitrogen oxide on the affected high-end vehicles could be nine times higher than allowed, the EPA said.
About 10,000 of the luxury cars from Volkswagen units are fitted with the illegal software device, US and California regulators said.
It is not clear how many models fitted with the current version of the V6 might have the illegal software. The EPA said it cited only those vehicles and model years that it had recently tested. It did not say if it has tested earlier versions of the engine.
Among the diesel models officials named on Monday as being in violation of US laws are five Audi models, including the A6 sedan and the Q5 SUV. Also cited were the Volkswagen Touareg and Porsche Cayenne.
In a separate statement, Porsche said it was “surprised to learn this information.”
“Until this notice, all of our information was that the Porsche Cayenne Diesel is fully compliant,” the statement said.
In September, Volkswagen admitted it installed software that can cheat emissions tests, called defeat devices, in smaller, four-cylinder engines in about 482,000 cars in the US and more than 11 million worldwide.
The company has yet to come up with solutions to address illegal software on three generations of four-cylinder diesels first cited by the EPA on Sept. 18.
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