Photo: Volkswagen
Volkswagen Group plans to recall up to 11 million cars that it has equipped with the illegal so-called "defeat devices" to fool emissions tests. The German company has just outlined its technical solution, saying that all EA189 Euro 5 diesel engines will be "refitted".
If you have no idea what that means, know that you're not the only one. Volkswagen has not actually revealed what changes will be made to these pollutant 2-liter mills.
The first and only clear step is that the customers affected will be informed that the emissions characteristics of their vehicles will need to be corrected. A recall will later be carried out, with full details expected before the end of October.
What needs to be done? It's a common misconception that these EU5 engines will need to be upgraded to meet the current emissions regulations. But the Germans only need to make sure they actually meet the EU5 requirements that they were originally designed for. What's involved in this process remains to be seen, though.
On Monday, September 28, new VW Group CEO Matthias Mueller said the number of cars affected may be lower than believed because the defeat device is not active on all diesel engines.
Somehow, Volkswagen officials are making the problem seem much smaller than the EPA says. Simple fix or not, this recall is going to be massive. Over 5 million VW brand cars join 2.1 million Audis, 1.2 million Skodas and 1.8 million light commercial vehicles. Less than 500,000 of these are in America, where the entire scandal started.
The first and only clear step is that the customers affected will be informed that the emissions characteristics of their vehicles will need to be corrected. A recall will later be carried out, with full details expected before the end of October.
The clock is ticking
The German government has set an October 7 deadline for Volkswagen to say how 2.8 million diesel cars will be brought up to standard. They also threatened to pull the cars off the road if the carmaker fails to do so. Meanwhile, countries like Spain, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium has issued a stop-sale order on VW models with the affected diesel engines.What needs to be done? It's a common misconception that these EU5 engines will need to be upgraded to meet the current emissions regulations. But the Germans only need to make sure they actually meet the EU5 requirements that they were originally designed for. What's involved in this process remains to be seen, though.
On Monday, September 28, new VW Group CEO Matthias Mueller said the number of cars affected may be lower than believed because the defeat device is not active on all diesel engines.
Somehow, Volkswagen officials are making the problem seem much smaller than the EPA says. Simple fix or not, this recall is going to be massive. Over 5 million VW brand cars join 2.1 million Audis, 1.2 million Skodas and 1.8 million light commercial vehicles. Less than 500,000 of these are in America, where the entire scandal started.
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