The Volkswagen emission scandal erupted last September 18 of 2015. United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Clean Air Act violation notice to the German automaker group Volkswagen. The reason for the notice violation issued by EPA was due to the discovery of a tricky program installed intentionally by Volkswagen to engage full emissions control only during testing.
A turbocharged direct injection (TDI) diesel engines is programmed to activate certain emissions controls only during laboratory emissions testing which allows it to pass the emission US standards provided during regulatory testing, but actually emits 40 percent more Nitrogen oxide, a harmful and toxic gas linked to lung cancer, to the environment in real-world driving.
Due to this emission scandal, Volkswagen's affected models for massive recalls are placed in the limelight. Affected Volkswagen models which did not pass the emission testing are the following:
- 2009-2015 Audi A3 2.0 L TDI
- 2009-2015 VW Beetle 2.0 L TDI
- 2009-2015 Beetle Convertible 2.0 L TDI
- 2009-2015 VW Golf 2.0 L TDI
- 2015 VW Golf Sportwagen 2.0 L TDI
- 2009-2015 VW Jetta 2.0 L TDI
- 2009-2014 Jetta Sportwagen 2.0 L TDI
- 2012-2015 VW Passat 2.0 L TDI.
According to Auto Express, Volkswagen gave their agreement for a record settlement as high as $14.7 billion (£12bn) to the US authorities, one year after the emission scandal came into light. The high-record settlement offered by Volkswagen will compensate for the damages incurred by the toxic emissions brought by the Volkswagen models involved, and to help in funding the clean air projects.
Car and Driver further report that the car company Volkswagen will not be selling new diesel models for now. Sales were halted upon the emission scandal eruption. Volkswagen has been offering electric cars but has long stopped selling diesel cars especially in the US.
For those who purchased the TDI cars, they can sell their model back to Volkswagen for the price ranging $12,500 and $44,000 which depends on the model, trim, age, and location. This buyback process was announced early November 2016. For those who opted not to sell their cars, they can receive compensation money between $5100 and $10,000, and an offer for a free emission fix is also given. Those who did not choose any of these options are given until May 2018 to decide.
Volkswagen is looking into fixing the model's emission flop. But sources hint that the company will reveal their plan regarding this by the end of the year 2017. More updates regarding the Volkswagen emission scandal will be given soon.
Here is an excerpt of HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver regarding the Volkswagen emission scandal.
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