VW Emissions Scandal: Almost 1.2M UK Vehicles Used ‘Defeat Devices’

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VW logoVolkswagen has admitted almost 1.2 million diesel vehicles in the UK are involved in the emissions scandal and used “defeat devices” to cheat air pollution laws.

VW said the diesel vehicles include 508,276 Volkswagen cars, 393,450 Audis, 76,773 Seats, 131,569 Škodas and 79,838 Volkswagen commercial vehicles, The Guardian reports. The total number of vehicles affected is 1,189,906.

This is the first time that VW has said how many UK vehicles used defeat devices.

VW also says it has a plan to fix the emissions problems for some 5 million passenger cars out of its total 11 million vehicles globally. The automaker says its first step is to inform affected customers “that the emissions characteristics of their vehicles will be corrected in the near future. All vehicles are technically safe and roadworthy.”

Yesterday Green Car Journal said it is rescinding the Green Car of the Year awards previously honoring the 2009 VW Jetta TDI and 2010 Audi A3 TDI — the first time this has occurred in the award program’s decade-long history.

Meanwhile, as the emissions cheating scandal continues to unfold, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has called for random emissions testing on cars on the road.

“The obvious move is to pick cars at random and then test the emissions in transit,” Musk told reporters in the Netherlands, at the opening of Tesla’s first European factory.

The EPA on Friday announced it was cracking down on car emissions testing. The agency EPA sent a letter to vehicle manufacturers notifying them that the agency is adding to its confirmatory testing additional evaluations designed to look for potential defeat devices.

 

Environment + Energy Leader