Volkswagen UK used “defeat devices” in EU test results, 1.2 million diesel vehicles affected

Kuala Lumpur: The Volkswagen Dieselgate is not ending soon, as the news comes that Volkswagen UK chief, Paul Willis, has admitted that the “defeat devices” were employed in numerous cars to alter the end result of several emission tests in Europe. Earlier the German carmaker stated that only certain vehicles were equipped with said devices.

However, the German carmaker has not yet confirmed that the “defeat devices” were operational during the NEDC (New European Driving Cycle) emission tests or not. Though, Willis ambiguously said that, “It seems from what I understand – and I’m not an engineer – that the system of gas regulation in the engine influenced the NOx output in cars that we sell in the UK.”

He further added that “These cars are type approved across all of Europe, of course, and they’re type approved in Germany, with separate people overlooking it. That’s why we need to fix the cars, that’s why we need to get the customers in, and that’s why we need to put the cars right.”

As per reports, there are around 1,189,906 diesel vehicles (spread across different VW Group brands) in the UK which are affected by the “defeat devices” tricks. Among the total number, there are around 400,000 cars equipped with Volkswagen’s 1.6-litre EA189 diesel engine which requires more than a software recalibration.Apart from this the remaining 700,000 plus units comprises 2.0-litre diesel and another 30,000 plus cars with 1.2-litre diesel engines that can be rectified via software patches alone. Willis said, “The British taxpayer should not be out of pocket and if necessary, we will have a meeting with HMRC.”

Considering the earlier revelation, it might be possible that the NEDC cycle come under criticism from several quarters which also includes Willis and the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Mike Hawes. Mike Hawes said, “When you put a vehicle on the test cycle, for instance, all of the electronic devices that you would turn on in the real world – air-conditioning, heating, sat-nav, Bluetooth – all of that has to be switched off, by law, because when the regulation was created that sort of technology wasn’t available.” Willis said, “We need completely independent tests that look at all sorts of detail, like Euro NCAP, which uses real-world testing. We need to look at that on a global scale. Newly-appointed Volkswagen CEO, Matthias Mueller has stated that all affected vehicles will be rectified by the end of 2016.

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