Following the Transport and Environment's study that ﻿we reported last week, which claimed that ﻿90% of new diesel cars exceed EU pollution limits as manufacturers had been making alterations to cars in order to pass emissions tests; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has accused Volkswagen (VW) of installing software on cars sold in the US that allowed them to cheat on pollution measurement tests. The EPA said it was investigating whether VW used a "defeat device" - an illegal device designed to make vehicles appear cleaner than they really are when tested by official emission tests - or if there Volkswagen faces an $18bn penalty over the device, which has been cheating the clean-air standards during official emissions testing.
Following the Transport and Environment's study that ﻿we reported last week, which claimed that ﻿90% of new diesel cars exceed EU pollution limits as manufacturers had been making alterations to cars in order to pass emissions tests; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has accused Volkswagen (VW) of installing software on cars sold in the US that allowed them to cheat on pollution measurement tests. According to the EPA, software algorithms fitted to the VW cars can detect when the car's emissions are being tested, by turning on pollution controls that cut nitrogen oxides from being pumped out of the exhaust. Volkswagen faces an $18bn penalty over the device, which has been cheating the clean-air standards during official emissions testing.