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Even though the Dieselgate scandal is far from being over, the media's interest in the subject has slowly started to fade in the last few weeks, at least until more details unravel from Volkswagen's own investigation into the matter.
Fret not, pursuers of scandals of the automotive variety, because recent events may be a sign of much worse things to come, not all of them being connected to companies under the Volkswagen umbrella.
According to Germany's Motor Transport Authority (KBA), other European carmakers may have attempted to hide higher NOx emissions from authorities. There are no names given at the moment, and the irregularities are said to be at much lower levels than at Volkswagen, but that is far from making it OK.
The KBA is currently running emission tests with a little over 50 car models from 23 brands sold in Germany, and the authority has already finished checking about two-thirds of the targeted vehicles.
Apart from Volkswagen, KBA is also emission-testing diesel models from Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Opel, Porsche, smart, Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, Fiat, Dacia, Hyundai, Honda, Jeep, Land Rover, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, Toyota, and Volvo.
The German authority has refused to put its finger on the exact models that have shown signs of increased NOx emissions during testing, but “partly elevated levels of nitrogen oxides” were found in the data acquired from some of the vehicles tested so far.
Speaking of which, KBA has also declined to offer a deadline for when its emission testing will end, but we expect to learn more about the subject in the coming weeks.
According to Automotive News, an Opel spokesperson has declined to comment further on the matter, but it did admit that the carmaker is constantly in contact with the KBA during these proceedings. “We welcome these tests,” a Daimler AG representative told AN. “We have nothing to hide.” Apparently, BMW doesn't expect any negative conclusions following KBA's tests either, but that still leaves a lot of carmakers with trembling knees over the issue.
As it seems, the tests conducted by KBA consist of both laboratory checks on a chassis dynamometer (rolling road) and real world examinations made with portable emission measurement systems, so the findings should be more than accurate. Meanwhile, we're preparing to grab a few bags of popcorn and pop a couple of cold ones, because the emissions scandal is about to become more explosive than a Michael Bay movie.
According to Germany's Motor Transport Authority (KBA), other European carmakers may have attempted to hide higher NOx emissions from authorities. There are no names given at the moment, and the irregularities are said to be at much lower levels than at Volkswagen, but that is far from making it OK.
The KBA is currently running emission tests with a little over 50 car models from 23 brands sold in Germany, and the authority has already finished checking about two-thirds of the targeted vehicles.
Apart from Volkswagen, KBA is also emission-testing diesel models from Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Opel, Porsche, smart, Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, Fiat, Dacia, Hyundai, Honda, Jeep, Land Rover, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, Toyota, and Volvo.
The German authority has refused to put its finger on the exact models that have shown signs of increased NOx emissions during testing, but “partly elevated levels of nitrogen oxides” were found in the data acquired from some of the vehicles tested so far.
Speaking of which, KBA has also declined to offer a deadline for when its emission testing will end, but we expect to learn more about the subject in the coming weeks.
According to Automotive News, an Opel spokesperson has declined to comment further on the matter, but it did admit that the carmaker is constantly in contact with the KBA during these proceedings. “We welcome these tests,” a Daimler AG representative told AN. “We have nothing to hide.” Apparently, BMW doesn't expect any negative conclusions following KBA's tests either, but that still leaves a lot of carmakers with trembling knees over the issue.
As it seems, the tests conducted by KBA consist of both laboratory checks on a chassis dynamometer (rolling road) and real world examinations made with portable emission measurement systems, so the findings should be more than accurate. Meanwhile, we're preparing to grab a few bags of popcorn and pop a couple of cold ones, because the emissions scandal is about to become more explosive than a Michael Bay movie.
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