Dieselgate: Defeating isn’t cheating?
Volkswagen chief suggests cheating on European emissions tests may not have been illegalDays after its CEO announced it would do whatever it took to recover the public’s trust, Volkswagen has suggested cheating on the European emissions standard may not have been illegal.
That didn’t stop three prosecutors and 50 staffers from Germany’s Braunschweig [Brunswick] public prosecutor’s office searching the Volkswagen offices in both Braunschweig and Wolfsburg, as well as the private houses of an undisclosed number of past and present Volkswagen employees, on Wednesday and Thursday.
It also came in a week that saw Volkswagen’s US head, Michael Horn, grilled before a US House of Representatives Subcommittee on the scandal, and saw the state of Texas sought a preliminary injunction against Volkswagen for deceptive trade practices.
After weeks of questioning about whether or not the notorious ‘defeat’ software code was used to cheat on the EU emissions tests for diesel engines, a Volkswagen Group spokesman told English magazine Autocar that it “theoretically” might have.
Yet he went on to add that it wasn’t clear whether using the software, which detects when the car is being tested in a laboratory and switches to its full NOx-cleaning mode, was actually illegal in Europe.
“The software used in some diesel vehicles can theoretically detect a dynometer set-up and influence the emission strategy,” the Volkswagen spokesman said.
“It is not certain whether this function can be categorized as a defeat device under European standards.”
Volkswagen has strenuously avoided making any admissions about cheating on the European test cycle, even though it confessed to the EPA as early as July that it had cheated on the US tests.
Dieselgate related reading:
Huge recall planned, other brands hit
Audis affected top two million
ACCC issues statement on VW emissions saga
Müller locked in as Volkswagen CEO
BMW forced to deny emissions rigging
Volkswagen boss Winterkorn to go as crisis spreads
Dieselgate worsens, 11m vehicles could be affected
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