Ever since Volkswagen acknowledged that it used defeat
devices to cheat on EPA and EU diesel emissions testing, the company has
maintained that this critical decision was made by a rogue engineer, or
perhaps some middle-level managers. This has never been particularly convincing, given VW’s autocratic and closely managed culture. Now, new evidence may blow the claim up altogether.
According to the New York Times,
new documents procured by the paper show that VW executives, including
ex-CEO Martin Winterkorn, were aware by May 2014 that regulators could
accuse VW of using defeat devices based on the vehicle’s performance in
real-world tests. VW didn’t acknowledge that it had installed these
devices until September, 2015, and Winterkorn has said he did not learn
of the problem until shortly before Volkswagen admitted its lie.
In May 2014, Bernd Gottweis, a retired VW executive who came
out of retirement to assist the company with its emissions problem,
told Winterkorn that the company would be unable to give “a sound
explanation for the dramatically elevated” emission levels.
When Michael Horn, head of VW’s US division, testified to
Congress, he stated that VW had a specific technical plan to bring
vehicles into compliance. That’s significant, because the EPA spent well
over a year working VW to try and solve the problem with a software
update before the auto manufacturer finally admitted no fix was
possible. We now know the roots of the issue go back more than a decade, when VW realized none of its upcoming vehicles would meet US standards.
Again, these documents contradict the above view. By April
2014, VW had already evaluated various solutions to its emissions
problem, including software updates, and had concluded that they
wouldn’t solve the situation. VW performed this anyway, in December
2014, but it appears to have been done in the vain hope that the EPA
would simply drop the case rather than actually expecting it to solve
the problem. Volkswagen has been unable to find a solution
that would satisfy US regulators. US regulations on diesel emissions
are more strict than their European counterparts, and the EPA’s
relationship is much less cozy with auto manufacturers than in Europe.
VW has reportedly considered simply buying back some or all
of the affected vehicles. With an estimated 480,000 Volkswagens in the
United states, even a $10,000 buyback offer would cost the company $4.8
billion. That’s not including the fines and criminal penalties that
could be brought against the company if documents prove that it
continued lying to the US government while fraudulently misrepresenting
its “clean diesel” technology to US consumers.
Post a Comment