Photo: Volkswagen
Volkswagen is still licking its wounds after the whole Dieselgate scandal - what are we saying, it doesn’t even know the full extent of its wounds yet - but further development suggests that its current 2016 models could also be affected by a different kind of “defeat device.”
This time, it’s reported that Volkswagen came to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and told them about the so-called “auxiliary emissions control device,” asking for the agency’s approval.
It is not certain yet if the software acts as a defeat device for improving the cars’ emissions during tests, or if it's also functional in normal everyday driving, but that’s something the EPA will have to decide.
What this new auxiliary emissions control device does is to (presumably electrically) heat up a pollution control catalyst faster than normal. Its performance is thus increased, making it easier for the device to split the harmful nitrogen oxide into benign nitrogen and oxygen.
EPA is currently evaluating the situation, working closely with Volkswagen to help clear up the gray areas. One thing is certain, though: if there’s anybody looking forward to a swift solution, that somebody is Volkswagen.
The German carmaker has had to withdraw a big part of its stock in the U.S., and this pending certification process needed in order to sell 2016 diesel cars isn’t helping its hard-struck dealers at all.
Whatever the outcome, this only comes as another blow for diesel cars in general and Volkswagen diesel models in particular in the U.S., so we’re speaking about the worst possible timing.
Depending on EPA’s findings, Volkswagen could possibly be faced with an even larger recall than previously thought, plus financial implications that would send the company into an even deeper debt.
For all the info currently available on the situation, you can read Associated Press’ report.
We get the feeling that Volkswagen’s future in the U.S. is hanging on a wire right now. If one defeat device was something Volkswagen could cope with, a new one would raise a lot of questions - like “how many others are there?”
It is not certain yet if the software acts as a defeat device for improving the cars’ emissions during tests, or if it's also functional in normal everyday driving, but that’s something the EPA will have to decide.
What this new auxiliary emissions control device does is to (presumably electrically) heat up a pollution control catalyst faster than normal. Its performance is thus increased, making it easier for the device to split the harmful nitrogen oxide into benign nitrogen and oxygen.
EPA is currently evaluating the situation, working closely with Volkswagen to help clear up the gray areas. One thing is certain, though: if there’s anybody looking forward to a swift solution, that somebody is Volkswagen.
The German carmaker has had to withdraw a big part of its stock in the U.S., and this pending certification process needed in order to sell 2016 diesel cars isn’t helping its hard-struck dealers at all.
Whatever the outcome, this only comes as another blow for diesel cars in general and Volkswagen diesel models in particular in the U.S., so we’re speaking about the worst possible timing.
Depending on EPA’s findings, Volkswagen could possibly be faced with an even larger recall than previously thought, plus financial implications that would send the company into an even deeper debt.
For all the info currently available on the situation, you can read Associated Press’ report.
We get the feeling that Volkswagen’s future in the U.S. is hanging on a wire right now. If one defeat device was something Volkswagen could cope with, a new one would raise a lot of questions - like “how many others are there?”
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