Volkswagen and its affiliated companies have been busted again for cheating on emissions violations tests using a so-called “defeat device,” the Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday.
The EPA issued a second notice of violations to Volkswagen AG, Audi AG and Volkswagen Group of America, with a first notice of violation to Porsche AG and Porsche Cars North America. The companies are all collectively a part of Volkswagen’s corporate umbrella.
According to the EPA, light-diesel vehicles made by Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche for model years 2014 through 2016 were equipped with software “defeat devices” that allowed them to issue nitrogen oxide emissions nine times higher than the EPA standard when they weren’t being tested.
“VW has once again failed its obligation to comply with the law that protects all Americans,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
The models covered under the latest notice of violation are the 2014 VW Touareg, the 2015 Porsche Cayenne and the 2016 Audi A6 Quattro, A7 Quattro, A8, A-L and Q5. The latest notice of violation, according to the EPA, affects about 10,000 vehicles in the United States.
The EPA says about 482,000 Volkswagen vehicles in the United States were affected by the first notice of violation announced in September.
It’s the first time a Porsche has been caught up in the emissions scandal, in which Volkswagen has been caught using “defeat devices” to get around emissions testing.
The defeat device is about 100 million lines of software code written into the vehicle’s programming.
The software could tell if a test was taking place based on the position of the vehicle’s steering wheel, the speed the vehicle was traveling, how long the engine was being used and barometric pressure, according to the EPA. The vehicles would reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide during testing and then spew 40 times the legal limit during normal use.
Officials at the German auto giant are blaming “rogue software engineers” for creating the rigging system.
Company officials have said the defeat devices were isolated incidents, but the discovery of additional models with the software were discovered by enhanced EPA and California Air Resources Board testing.
EPA officials who spoke to reporters Monday declined to comment when asked if they believed Volkswagen had lied to regulators and consumers.
“The EPA continues to investigate the emissions from VW diesel vehicles,” Giles said.
Janet McCabe, acting administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, said the agency has revealed only vehicles identified with the “defeat device” software. The investigation by regulators is continuing.
“We will continue to be unpredictable, using all the tools at our disposal,” McCabe said about the enhanced testing announced by the EPA in September.
EPA officials did not say Monday how the latest round of violations could affect the severity of the penalties Volkswagen could face.
The maximum fine the EPA could hand out for each vehicle with a defeat device is $37,500, meaning Volkswagen could face a fine of about $18.5 billion with the additional vehicles caught up in the latest round of testing. It’s not clear if that fine could increase now that Volkswagen has been served multiple violation notices for the same offense.
“We have made no decision with respect to penalties, and that is a later phase of the case,” Giles said.
The scandal has already cost Volkswagen quite a bit, both in reputation and financially.
The company’s CEO has resigned, two congressional committees are investigating the scandal, the company’s stock price plummeted and about 8.5 million “clean diesel” vehicles in Europe are being recalled.
No recall has been announced in the United States. McCabe emphasized Monday that owners of VW’s “clean diesel” vehicles can continue driving them.
“The vehicles are safe and legal to drive at this time and no actions of the owners are required,” she said.
