Audi Volkswagen Taiwan Co (Volkswagen Taiwan) has fixed about 90 percent of its vehicles that cheated on emission tests in the US, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said on Friday, adding the firm has passed the agency’s review under certain conditions.
The US Environmental Protection Agency on Sept. 18, 2015, notified Volkswagen AG, Audi AG and Volkswagen Group of America of their violation of the nation’s Clean Air Act, saying their four-cylinder diesel cars from the model years 2009 to 2015 contained software that circumvented the agency’s emissions standards for certain air pollutants, with their emission levels of nitrogen oxide found to be up to 40 times the standard.
The act defines software such as that produced by Volkswagen that aims to reduce emissions during tests as “defeat devices,” it added.
The Executive Yuan’s Consumer Protection Committee later that month began to investigate, and on Jan. 14 last year, it formed a committee with the EPA to supervise Volkswagen Taiwan’s recall and rectification plan.
The EPA on Friday said the automaker has passed the review, as it had fixed 90 percent of its problematic cars by the end of last month as planned, but added that certain conditions apply.
Of the 18,746 vehicles that should have been recalled, 13,921 have had their defeat devices removed, Department of Air Quality Protection and Noise Control Director Tsai Hung-te (蔡鴻德) said.
Owners of 2,411 vehicles had refused to have their cars rectified, while owners of another 1,800 vehicles did not respond to the company’s notification, he said, adding that 69 owners were in the middle of a joint lawsuit against the company, while 545 other cars had been exported, scrapped or had incorrect registration information.
The firm should provide a free rectification service for an unlimited time for those vehicles that have not yet been fixed, Tsai said.
By Friday, the automaker should submit a response that clarifies the car models owned by those who refused the fix, he said, adding that the administration would close the case upon receipt of the report.
While the company in the US had paid more than US$20 billion in criminal penalties and lawsuit settlements, it did not violate any regulations in Taiwan.
Therefore, the EPA on June 23 introduced a draft amendment to the Air Pollution Control Act (空氣污染防制法) to address defeat devices, among other issues.
In the draft, manufacturers or importers of vehicles are banned from installing any defeat devices that might affect a vehicle’s emissions, unless they protect cars from accidents or reduce unnecessary engine operations.
It also stipulates that violators would face a fine of between NT$100,000 and NT$5 million (US$3,288 and US$164,382) and would have their emission certificates revoked.
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