Just a day after Volkswagen executives said the car company would not stop the sale of vehicles included in the Environmental Protection Agency’s newest notice of violation for emission standards, the manufacturer backtracked, and now says it will tell dealers not to sell certain VW, Audi and Porsche models.
The stop-sale covers more vehicles than the EPA and California Air Resources Board included in its latest notification of violation which found nearly 10,000 additional VW-made cars contain “defeat devices” aimed at cheating emissions tests, the Detroit News reports.
The company on Wednesday directed dealers to halt purchases of new and certified pre-owned 3.0 liter, 6-cylinder model year 2013 Audi Q7 TDI; model year 2014 to 2016 Audi A6, A7, A8, Q5 and Q7; and model year 2013 to 2016 VW Touareg vehicles.
Porsche, also owned by VW, announced on Tuesday that it had stopped the sale of 2014 to 2016 Cayenne SUVs.
VW’s second stop-sale in two months comes just two days after the EPA and CARB announced that an ongoing investigation into the carmaker’s emissions scandal found additional Clean Air Act violations.
“VW has once again failed its obligation to comply with the law that protects clean air for all Americans,” Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for the Office for EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said during a press call on Monday. “All companies should be playing by the same rules. EPA, with our state, and federal partners, will continue to investigate these serious matters, to secure the benefits of the Clean Air Act, ensure a level playing field for responsible businesses, and to ensure consumers get the environmental performance they expect.”
The following day, VW denied the new allegations, claiming the device found in the cars was “permissible, and declaring it had no plans to stop the sale of the affected cars.
Regulators previously accused VW of installing the so-called defeat devices on about 482,000 diesel vehicles since 2008.
Days later, the German carmaker admitted that nearly 11 million vehicles worldwide contained a “sophisticated software algorithm” programmed to detect when the car is undergoing official emissions testing, and to only turn on full emissions control systems – the temperature conditioning mode – during that testing.
Just yesterday, the company announced that an internal investigation found nearly 800,000 other vehicles may skirt standards related to carbon dioxide emissions.
VW issues stop-sale for Audi, Porsche SUV diesels [The Detroit News]
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist
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