The chief executive officer (CEO) of Volkswagen (VW) Group of America Michael Horn was yesterday (8 October) questioned by members of the US government's investigations subcommittee of the House committee on energy and commerce. Horn was grilled by the cross-party committee in the first time that a VW official has been called to account by a government for the actions that led to the EA189 diesel engine being fitted with a "defeat device". The device was used in 482,000 VW and Audi cars from model years 2009 to 2015, to ensure that they passed US nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions tests, with the company subsequently admitting that over 11 million cars were fitted with the device worldwide.
Horn began his opening address to the committee by offering an apology and admitting that the fact the situation occurred in the first place was deeply troubling. Under questioning directly referring to how many within VW knew directly about the defeat device and what it was meant to do, Horn replied that the decision was not made at board level and was made by individuals further down the management chain. The Congressman were keen to press Horn on this. Texan Congressman Joe Barton asked him, "Do you really believe, as good, as well-run as Volkswagen has always been reputed to be, that senior level corporate managers, administrators, had no knowledge for years and years?" To this Horn replied, "I agree it's very hard to believe. And personally I struggle [to believe it] as well." He added, "I did not think that something like this was possible at the Volkswagen group. We have broken the trust of our customers, dealerships, employees as well as the public and the regulators. Let me be very clear: we at Volkswagen take full responsibility for our actions and we are working with all the relevant authorities in a co-operative way."
Horn went on to outline the timeline of how he became aware of events, being informed about a possible emissions non-compliance in early 2014. However, he said he was not made aware that the EA189 powertrain was fitted with the defeat device until last month. Horn went on to say that around 430,000 units of the total of 482,000 units affected were fitted with a Lean NOx Trap (LNT) in order to pass the EPA's tests. Fixing these cars will take longer according to Horn as they will require more than just a software fix, and VW is still working on the technical solution it will present to customers. Horn said, "For those cars, we believe that a software-only solution will not be possible because, frankly, if it were possible they would have done it in the first place."
German chancellor Angela Merkel has backed VW to complete a thorough and full investigation into how the situation occurred in the first place and who is directly responsible. It appears that Merkel is keen to defend VW as much as possible, given its importance to the German automotive industry and the wider German economy as a whole. In an address to the European Parliament earlier in the week Merkel also called on politicians from the German Green party not to exploit the situation for political gain. "Please don't use this affair to do something that you might do anyway by political conviction, namely to condemn the automobile in general and thereby threaten many thousands of jobs in Europe," Merkel responded to Green politician Rebecca Harms during a debate. "We shouldn't do that. We tend to have too few jobs in Europe rather than too many." She added, "Something happened at VW that urgently requires swift clarification – where we need transparency and where I have the impression that the company is doing that." VW faces a significant engineering challenge, and therefore a significant cost and timescale implication in re-engineering the Gen 1 EA189 powertrain cars
Outlook and implications
Watching the CEO of VW Group of America in front of the congressional committee was at times a painful process. Horn did the best job he could in almost impossible circumstances but he simply does not yet have the answers for which the committee is impatient. Namely: how did the situation occur in the first place, who was directly responsible, and what is the timescale and technical solution for the recall on the cars with the Gen 1 EA189 engine, which will require an engineering solution rather than just a software change to address the issues surrounding their NOx emissions. Given the complexity and the scale of the situation VW cannot be blamed for wanting to undertake as thorough investigation as possible. However, this will take time and regulators and customers are impatient for answers and solutions, especially in the US where VW's diesel cars were marketed on their environmental credentials. Balancing the need to make the investigation as thorough as possible and the need to be seen to be offering answers and solutions as quickly as possible will be key to VW's handling of the emissions affair. VW faces a significant engineering challenge, and therefore a significant cost and timescale implication in re-engineering the Gen 1 EA189 powertrain cars to be fitted with a urea tank. Horn admitted in his testimony that these vehicles would take far longer to address. How VW handles this set of customers is likely to be key to managing its ongoing reputation in the US. Meanwhile the company still appears to have an important ally in Angela Merkel. She is right to look to defend the company and the vast majority of its employees who will have played no part in the emissions affair. However, she also might be somewhat ruing the timing of her statement given the fact that three prosecutors and 50 policeman made an unannounced search of VW's corporate headquarters in Wolfsburg, as well as searching a number of private addresses in the area. It appears that despite VW's own efforts to try and get to the bottom of the affair the German authorities are also stepping up their own investigation.
