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Volkswagen emissions scandal

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2009 Volkswagen Jetta Diesel Sedan, Green Car of the Year

In September 2015, Volkswagen admitted to using installed software in several 2009-2016 model-year cars, with common-rail TDI engines, to fraudulently pass U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emissions tests.

The software "defeat device" came to light after a series of investigations of Volkswagen's diesel engines by the EPA and the California Air Resources Board. The scrutiny focused on Volkswagen AG's use of engine control unit firmware programming techniques in vehicles equipped with TDI diesel engines to skirt vehicle emissions compliance laws in the United States.

Background

Main article: Turbocharged Direct Injection

Starting with the 2009 model year, Volkswagen Group began migrating its light-duty passenger vehicle TDI diesel engines to use a common-rail fuel injection system. This type of injection system allows for higher-precision fuel delivery through the use of electronically-controlled fuel injectors and higher injection pressure, theoretically leading to better fuel atomization, air/fuel ratio control and, by extension, better control of emissions.

With the addition of a Diesel particulate filter to capture soot, and on some vehicle models, a urea-based exhaust aftertreatment system, the engines were touted by Volkswagen as being as clean as or cleaner than US and California requirements, while providing good performance and drivability.

2010 VW Golf TDI Clean Diesel on display at a U.S. auto show.

Notice of emissions testing falsification allegations

On September 18, 2015 the US EPA and California Air Resources Board served notice to VW that approximately 480,000 VW and Audi automobiles equipped with 2 litre TDI engines, and sold in the US between 2009 and 2015, had an emissions compliance "defeat device" installed.

The "defeat device," in the form of specially-crafted engine management unit firmware, detects emissions testing conditions, and in such conditions will cause the vehicle to comply with emissions regulations by properly activating all emissions controls. However, under normal driving conditions, the emissions controls are suppressed, allowing the engine to produce more torque and get better fuel economy, at the expense of emitting up to 40 times more nitrogen oxides than allowed by law.

Discrepancies in emissions were discovered by researchers at West Virginia University, in work funded by the International Council on Clean Transportation. Their findings were published in a report which described the testing methodology and results.

Volkswagen CEO's admission of culpability

Volkswagen's CEO Martin Winterkorn was contrite, saying "I personally am deeply sorry that we have broken the trust of our customers and the public.” Volkswagen Group of America CEO Michael Horn was more direct, admitting "We screwed up." Volkswagen further announced that 11 million cars were involved in the falsified emission reports, and that over seven billion dollars would be earmarked to deal with the costs of rectifying the deceptive software at the heart of the fraudulent pollution statements.

Fallout

Legal and financial repercussions

Government actions

The EPA announced that should the allegations be proven, Volkswagen Group could face fines of up to US$37,500 per vehicle (approximately $18B). VW suspended sales of TDI-equipped cars in the US on September 20, 2015. The EPA has given VW wide latitude to date to come up with a recall plan which (at the time of the revelation) is thought to need over a year to complete.

In addition to possible civil fines, media reports state that the United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division is conducting a criminal probe of Volkswagen AG's conduct.

Private actions

As of September 21, 2015, at least one class-action lawsuit had been filed on behalf of Volkswagen and Audi owners, claiming fraud and breach of contract, positing the "diminished value" of diesels that will be fixed to conform with pollution regulations, due to expected reductions in horsepower and fuel efficiency.

Market size

Over one quarter of VW's sales in the U.S. are diesel-powered vehicles. The corporation has chosen a market strategy that emphasizes clean diesel over electric cars or hybrid vehicles. In addition to the 480,000 vehicles with 2.0l TDI engines sold in the US, Volkswagen has stated that vehicles sold in other countries with the 1.5l 4-cylinder TDI engine known as Type EA 189 is affected as well. Volkswagen has stated that 11 million vehicles sold worldwide are affected.

Stock value

Volkswagen AG shares plunged 20% on the DAX on September 21, 2015, the first day of trading after the EPA's Notice of Violation to VW became public. The following day the stock fell another €22 for a 2-day decline of 35% of shareholder value.

Media reporting

The TDI emissions scandal has received widespread media exposure, with headlines fronting the websites of multiple news gathering and reporting organizations, including the Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, Money Magazine, and Fox Business, to name just a few. Ezra Dyer, contributing reporter to Popular Mechanics' "Cars" section, indicates that the scandal "is much worse than a recall," and opines that Volkswagen engaged in a pattern of "cynical deceit."

Some media outlets have called the scandal "Dieselgate" in reference to previous controversies. Users of the TDIClub.com forum generated hundreds of pages of submissions in the days following the scandal breaking.

References

  1. Hannu Jääskeläinen and Magdi K. Khair (May 2015). "Common Rail Fuel Injection". DieselNet Technology Guide. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  2. Robert Bosch GmbH (Jun 7, 2004). "The Common Rail Diesel Injection System Explained". Swedespeed.com. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  3. Becky Yerak and Gregory Karp (September 21, 2015). "Volkswagen owners should be nervous about emissions scandal, experts say". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  4. Steve Hall (March 5, 2015). "VW Touts TDI Clean Diesel With 'Golden Sisters' Video Series On Tumblr". Marketing Land. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  5. Phillip A. Brooks (September 18, 2015). "VW Notice of Violation, Clean Air Act (September 18, 2015)" (PDF). US Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  6. {{cite web|url=http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d/dfc8e33b5ab162b985257ec40057813b!opendocument%7Ctitle=EPA, California Notify Volkswagen of Clean Air Act Violations|publisher=US Environmental Protection Agency|date=September 18, 2015|accessdate=September 20, 2015}}
  7. Jack Ewing and Coral Davenport (September 20, 2015). "Volkswagen to Stop Sales of Diesel Cars Involved in Recall". The New York Times. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  8. Scott Finn (September 21, 2015). "WVU Researchers Help Bust Volkswagen for Pollution Violations". Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  9. "In-Use Emissions Testing of Light-Duty Diesel Vehicles in the United States" (PDF). May 15, 2014. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  10. "Volkswagen admits it 'totally screwed up' as emissions rigging scandal spreads". euronews.com. September 22, 2015. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  11. "Volkswagen Says 11 Million Cars Worldwide Are Affected in Diesel Deception". nytimes.com. September 22, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2015. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  12. Jack Ewing (September 21, 2015). "Volkswagen Stock Falls as Automaker Tries to Contain Fallout". The New York Times. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  13. Aruna Viswanatha (September 21, 2015). "U.S. Conducts Criminal Probe of Volkswagen, Sources Say". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2015-09-22.
  14. Kate Gibson (September 22, 2015). "Volkswagen's stock is a car wreck". CBS. Retrieved 2015-09-22.
  15. Becky Yerak; Gregory Karp (September 21, 2015). "Volkswagen owners should be nervous about emissions scandal, experts say". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2015-09-22.
  16. Jeff Plungis and Dana Hall (September 20, 2015). "VW's Emissions Cheating Found by Curious Clean-Air Group". Washington Post. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  17. Dreyfuss, Emily (2015-09-22). "Volkswagen Says Emissions Deception Actually Affects 11 Million Cars". Wired Magazine. Retrieved 2015-09-22.
  18. Andreas Cremer (September 21, 2015). "Volkswagen AG shares plummet after admitting it cheated on emission tests". Financial Post c/o Reuters. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  19. Becky Yerak and Gregory Karp (September 21, 2015). "Volkswagen owners should be nervous about emissions scandal, experts say". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  20. Jack Ewing and Coral Davenport (September 20, 2015). "Volkswagen to Stop Sales of Diesel Cars Involved in Recall". The New York Times. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  21. Ethan Wolff Mann (September 21, 2015). "The Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Scandal, By the Numbers". Money c/o Time Inc. Network. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  22. Matthew Rocco (September 21, 2015). "Emissions Scandal Rocks Volkswagen, Diesel Sales Halted". Fox Business. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  23. Ezra Dyer (September 21, 2015). "This VW Diesel Scandal Is Much Worse Than a Recall". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  24. Patrick George (September 21, 2015). "Your Guide To Dieselgate: Volkswagen's Diesel Cheating Catastrophe". Jalopnik. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  25. Zac Estrada (September 21, 2015). "Which will Dieselgate hurt more, Volkswagen or US diesels?". autoblog. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  26. User Generated Content (September 22, 2015). "Volkswagen's Clean Air Act violations on 2009+ TDIs trigger massive recall, stop sale". TDIClub.com. Retrieved September 22, 2015. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)

Further reading

External links

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