EPA orders Volkswagen to fix nearly 500,000 VW, Audi cars that violate clean air laws
In this photo taken Feb. 14, 2013, a Volkswagen logo is seen on the grill of a Volkswagen on display in Pittsburgh. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says nearly 500,000 Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars built in the past seven year are intentionally violating clean air standards by using software that evades EPA emissions standards. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday ordered Volkswagen to fix nearly 500,000 VW and Audi diesel cars that the agency said are intentionally violating clean air laws by using software that evades EPA emissions standards.
VW, which owns Audi, faces billions of dollars in fines, although exact amounts were not determined.
The cars, all built in the last seven years, include a device programmed to detect when they are undergoing official emissions testing, the EPA said, adding that the cars only turn on full emissions control systems during that testing. The controls are turned off during normal driving situations, the EPA said.
The EPA called the company’s use of the so-called “defeat device” illegal and a threat to public health.
“EPA is committed to making sure that all automakers play by the same rules,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant EPA administrator for enforcement and compliance assurance.
The EPA called on VW to fix the cars’ emissions systems, but said car owners do not need to take any immediate action. The violations do not present a safety hazard and the cars remain legal to drive and sell, the EPA said.
The German automaker said in a statement it is cooperating with the investigation, but declined further comment.
The EPA said VW faces fines of up to $37,500 per vehicle for the violations — a total of more than $18 billion. No final total was announced. California issued a separate compliance order to VW, and officials announced an investigation by the California Air Resources Board.
Despite the seriousness of the violation, the EPA said VW will be given “a reasonable amount of time to develop a plan to complete the repairs,” including both the repair procedure and manufacture of any needed parts.
It could take up to a year to identify corrective actions, develop a recall plan and issue recall notices, the EPA said.
Environmental groups hailed the EPA and California for moving aggressively to enforce clean air laws.
“The charges here are truly appalling: that Volkswagen knowingly installed software that produced much higher smog-forming emissions from diesel vehicles in the real world than in pre-sale tests,” said Frank O’Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, a Washington-based advocacy group.
O’Donnell accused VW of “cheating not just car buyers but the breathing public.” He said the charges undercut industry rhetoric about “clean diesel” cars.
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The Volkswagens likely perform better with the emissions controls defeated than they do with them on, said Aaron Bragman, Detroit bureau chief for the Cars.com automotive shopping and research site. Otherwise, he said, there would be no reason to have a setting that turns on the controls for tests and turns them off for regular driving.
“Obviously it’s changing the way the engine operates somehow that may not be pleasing to consumers,” he said. “It would follow that it would put it into a very different feel in terms of operation of the vehicle.”
But Bragman said other countries may allow different modes for testing and normal driving.
The allegations cover roughly 482,000 diesel passenger cars sold in the United States since 2008. Affected models include:
. Jetta (Model Years 2009 — 2015)
. Beetle (Model Years 2009 — 2015)
. Audi A3 (Model Years 2009 — 2015)
. Golf (Model Years 2009 — 2015)
. Passat (Model Years 2014-2015)
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AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this story.
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FRANKFURT/HAMBURG (Reuters) - Volkswagen told U.S. dealers to halt sales of some 2015 diesel cars after regulators found software it designed for the affected vehicles gave false emissions data, the company said Sunday, announcing it had launched an investigation.
In a statement published by the carmaker on Sunday, Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn said, "I personally am deeply sorry that we have broken the trust of our customers.
"Volkswagen has ordered an external investigation of this matter," he said.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Friday the software deceived regulators measuring toxic emissions, adding that Volkswagen could face fines of up to $18 billion as a result.
The Detroit News reported late Friday that VW dealers still had some 2015 diesel Jetta, Passat and Beetle cars for sale.
A VW representative on Sunday confirmed the partial halt of sales of the affected vehicles but did not give any numbers.
Winterkorn said, "We do not and will not tolerate violations of any kind of our internal rules or of the law," adding that the company was fully cooperating with the relevant agencies.
He gave no details on who would carry out the external investigation.
"This is not your usual recall issue, an error in calibration or even a serious safety flaw," Bernstein analysts wrote in a note on Sunday. "There is no way to put an optimistic spin on this - this is really serious."
Cynthia Giles, an enforcement officer at the EPA, said on Friday the cars in question "contained software that turns off emissions controls when driving normally and turns them on when the car is undergoing an emissions test".
The feature, which the EPA called a "defeat device," masks the true emissions only during testing. When the cars are on the road, they emit as much as 40 times the level of pollutants allowed under clean air rules meant to ensure public health is protected, Giles said.
"We have admitted to it to the regulator. It is true. We are actively cooperating with the regulator," a Volkswagen spokesman said on Sunday.
Volkswagen could face civil penalties of $37,500 for each vehicle not in compliance with federal clean air rules. Some 482,000 four-cylinder VW and Audi diesel cars sold since 2008 are involved in the allegations.
If each car involved is found to be in noncompliance, the penalty could be $18 billion, an EPA official confirmed during the telephone conference on Friday.
Volkswagen peer Daimler, meanwhile, signaled it may not be subject to the same violation.
"I have a rough idea of what is happening and that it does not apply to us," Daimler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said on Sunday at an event in Hamburg.
"But it is much too early to make a final statement on this," he added.
(Editing by Andrew Roche and Jonathan Oatis)
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The Principle of Least Interest: He who cares least about a relationship, controls it.
In this photo taken Feb. 14, 2013, a Volkswagen logo is seen on the grill of a Volkswagen on display in Pittsburgh. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says nearly 500,000 Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars built in the past seven year are intentionally violating clean air standards by using software that evades EPA emissions standards. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) 
