The devices ensured that pollution controls worked properly only in the laboratory, while on the road the cars emitted four times the legal limit of pollutants. The Volkswagen emissions scandal is thought to result in thousands of people across Europe dying early due to air pollution from the cars that cheated emissions tests, according to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The carmaker fitted illegal devices to over 11 million diesel cars that were built between 2007 and 2015, which produced four times the legal limit of pollutants. Researchers found that a small number of VW vehicles had been equipped with software designed to cheat on emission tests by using an engine control unit (ECU) not approved for use in Europe.
The Volkswagen emissions scandal is thought to result in thousands of people across Europe dying early due to air pollution from the cars that cheated emissions tests, according to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The carmaker fitted illegal devices to over 11 million diesel cars that were built between 2007 and 2015, which produced four times the legal limit of pollutants. Researchers found that a small number of VW vehicles had been equipped with software designed to cheat on emission tests by using an engine control unit (ECU) not approved for use in Europe.