The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California are accusing Volkswagen of violating the Clean Air Act by using software that allows hundred of thousands of VW and Audi diesel-powered cars to get around emission standards.
“Using a defeat device in cars to evade clean air standards is illegal and a threat to public health,” said Cynthia Giles, EPA assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance assurance. “Working closely with the California Air Resources Board, EPA is committed to making sure that all automakers play by the same rules. EPA will continue to investigate these very serious matters.”
The agency’s notice of violation covers about 482,000 diesel cars sold between 2009 and 2015 model years.
Affected diesel models include:
- Jetta (model years 2009 – 2015)
- Beetle (model years 2009 – 2015)
- Audi A3 (model years 2009 – 2015)
- Golf (model years 2009 – 2015)
- Passat (model years 2014-2015)
California is separately issuing an In-Use Compliance letter to Volkswagen, and EPA and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) have both initiated investigations based on Volkswagen’s alleged actions.
“Working with U.S. EPA we are taking this important step to protect public health thanks to the dogged investigations by our laboratory scientists and staff,” said CARB executive officer Richard Corey. “Our goal is to ensure that the affected cars are brought into compliance, to dig more deeply into the extent and implications of Volkswagen’s efforts to cheat on clean air rules, and to take appropriate further action.”
The federal and California regulators say Volkswagen used a sophisticated software algorithm on certain Volkswagen vehicles that detects when the car is undergoing official emissions testing and turns full emissions controls on only during the test. The effectiveness of these vehicles’ pollution emissions control devices is greatly reduced during all normal driving situations.
