Volkswagen AG suffered a setback in its efforts to emerge from the 10-month-old emissions-cheating scandal as California regulators rejected a recall proposal for 85,000 diesel-powered vehicles, raising the prospect that the German automaker would have to buy them all back.
The manufacturer’s plan for fixing Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche models equipped with 3-liter engines rigged to cheat on emissions tests was inadequate, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) said on Wednesday in a statement.
The regulator, along with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is to continue talks with Volkswagen in hopes of finding a fix, CARB said in letters dated on Wednesday to Volkswagen executives and attorneys.
Photo: EPA
The agency has been in talks with the German company over the engines since at least Feb. 2, when the manufacturer filed its first “single, incomplete recall plan,” according to the letters.
‘INCOMPLETE DATA’
Additional data submitted by Volkswagen last month are also “incomplete” and “substantially deficient” for legal requirements, CARB said.
The rejection shows the scandal that emerged in September last year is far from over, despite a landmark US$14.7 billion settlement reached last month.
That deal, which covered 480,000 cars with 2-liter engines, requires Volkswagen to spend up to US$10 billion to buy back the vehicles.
A federal judge in San Francisco is considering whether to approve the accord, which would also allow owners to have their cars repaired if a fix is approved by federal and state regulators.
The German company reached a related US$603 million settlement last month with 44 US states to resolve consumer and environmental claims.
PROCEDURAL STEP
The CARB announcement was a procedural step under state laws governing recalls, Volkswagen spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan said in an e-mailed statement. “We continue to work closely with the US Environmental Protection Agency and CARB to try to secure approval of a technical resolution for our 3.0L TDI vehicles as quickly as possible.”
The agency agrees with CARB’s decision that the proposed fix is not adequate, EPA spokeswoman Julia Valentine said.
The “EPA is working in close coordination with CARB, and we agree that VW has not presented an approvable proposed recall plan for the 3-liter diesel vehicles,” she said in an e-mailed statement.
AFFECTED VEHICLES
About 16,000 of the vehicles with 3-liter engines are in California. The engine is used in the Audi A6, A7 and A8 sedans, and the Q5 and Q7 sport utility vehicles, as well as the Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg SUVs.
CARB’s letter to Volkswagen lists 10 specific failures of the proposed solutions. They include the automaker’s inability to provide a full description of the so-called defeat devices, the effect the proposed fix would have on performance, the effects of repairs on emissions or even a description of the fix in a manner that would allow CARB to evaluate its feasibility, the letters said.
US District Judge Charles Breyer, the San Francisco judge who demanded that Volkswagen reach a deal to get the cars fixed or off the road, has set a July 26 hearing on preliminary approval for the settlement covering 2-liter engines.
He has scheduled Aug. 25 for lawyers to report their progress in reaching an agreement for the 3-liter models.
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