September 29, 2015 — Volkswagen (VW) has announced plans to fix up to 11 million cars in Europe with illegal software designed to cheat on emissions tests, Reuters reports.
The new CEO of VW, Matthias Müller, says a team has put together a “comprehensive action plan.”
Starting in October, VW will contact owners of affected vehicles in Europe and tell them to bring their cars in for a software update. The fix is easier in the European Union, where laws about nitrogen oxide emissions are less strict than in the United States.
Simply updating the software to remove the “defeat device” would not impact performance. According to the Los Angeles Times, the plan does not extend to 482,000 cars in the U.S., where the repair will not be so simple.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) say the cars emit up to 40X the acceptable level of nitrogen oxide. Retrofitting the engines to reduce emissions could significantly impact performance, fuel-efficiency, and resale value on the cars.
VW company spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan said, “For the U.S. we are still diligently working with EPA and CARB for a remedy agreed upon by all parties.”
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