First Volkswagen Emission Fix Software To Be Made Available Next Week
German automobile company, Volkswagen (VW) is expected to provide US and California regulators with a preliminary attempt at a software fix for the defeat devices it installed in 2012-2014 Passat within the next week.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said this on Thursday, in an email response to the Reuters.
The EPA said that Volkswagen had told regulators it would deliver the software to the agency and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in an attempt to address and correct the illegal software algorithm that VW diesel vehicles used to evade US emission standards.
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“The EPA and CARB will immediately begin evaluating the proposed software,” EPA added.
This is coming after German police swooped on Volkswagen’s headquarters, carrying away files and hard disks as the investigation into a massive pollution cheating scandal expanded on both sides of the Atlantic.
Earlier on Thursday, Volkswagen North America CEO Michael Horn told a House of congressional investigations panel probing the emissions scandal that the company had sought EPA approval to begin installing software fixes in January in the first of nearly 500,000 vehicles that contain the defeat devices.
Horn said the cars fell into three generations of vehicles. The most recent models, known as Generation 3, number about 70 000 and would be the first to receive a fix.
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He said the generation 2 vehicles (2012-2014 Passat) numbered around 90,000 could begin to receive fixes around the middle of 2016.
The Generation 1 vehicles, known as the oldest cars, totaling around 325,000, would require major changes including possible installation of urea tanks that neutralize harmful emissions. No date has been set for the fixing of those vehicles.
