The Environmental Protection Agency and California regulators charged automakers Volkswagen and Audi on Friday with purposefully violating emission standards in their line of diesel cars.
EPA accused the automakers of using a device in their vehicles to get around the pollution rules. According to EPA, the device regulates emissions, but only turns on and works while emissions are being tested.
“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 the agency’s enforcement office. “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.”
Giles said VW was “concealing facts” about the devices. The vehicle models involved include the popular Jetta, Audi A-3, Passat and the iconic Beetle, and in model years 2009-2015. The violations cover 482,000 diesel passenger cars.
The EPA’s announcement isn’t a final decision, but is a clear sign that the EPA believes it has a case against the automakers, one that could lead to fines as large as $37,000 per vehicle. All together, the combined fines could pile up to $18 billion.
An EPA statement said “California is separately issuing an In-Use Compliance letter to Volkswagen, and EPA and the California Air Resources Board … have both initiated investigations based on Volkswagen’s alleged actions.”
“Working with US EPA we are taking this important step to protect public health thanks to the dogged investigations by our laboratory scientists and staff,” the California board’s CEO Richard Corey said. “Our goal now 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.”
