Volkswagen chief ‘sorry’ about breach of US environment rules

Volkswagen has ordered an external investigation after US regulators found software the carmaker designed for diesel cars gave false emissions data, its chief executive said yesterday, adding he was “deeply sorry” for the violation of US rules.

"I personally am deeply sorry that we have broken the trust of our customers and the public," Martin Winterkorn said. "Volkswagen has ordered an external investigation of this matter."

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Friday the software deceived regulators measuring toxic emissions, adding Volkswagen could face fines of up to $18 billion as a result.

Violations

“We do not and will not tolerate violations of any kind of our internal rules or of the law,” Winterkorn said, adding the company was fully cooperating with the relevant agencies.

He gave no details on who would carry out the external investigation.

“This is not your usual recall issue, an error in calibration or even a serious safety flaw,” Bernstein analysts noted. “There is no way to put an optimistic spin on this – this is really serious.”

Cynthia Giles, an enforcement officer at the EPA, said the cars in question "contained software that turns off emissions controls when driving normally and turns them on when the car is undergoing an emissions test".

The feature masks the true emissions only during testing. – (Reuters)