Volkswagen (VW) Group has been directed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to recall more than 15,000 vehicles in the state in order to fix emission software. The recall includes vehicles sold under the Audi, Porsche and VW brands equipped with 3.0-litre diesel engines, reports Automotive News. The order by the state regulator comes following Audi's admission that vehicles sold with 3.0-litre diesel engines since 2009 contained three "auxiliary emissions control devices (AECD)" that were not properly disclosed to regulators. Earlier this week, Audi said one of the three AECDs, related to the temperature conditioning of the exhaust gas cleaning system, was deemed a defeat device by US regulators. VW Group has 45 business days to submit its plan to recall the affected vehicles equipped with 3.0-litre diesel engines.
Significance: Earlier this month, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a second notice of violation (NOV) to the German automotive group alleging several VW, Audi, and Porsche light-duty diesel vehicles equipped with 3.0-litre engines used the software to underreport nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. The US nationwide figure eventually came to slightly over 85,000 units, with the majority of the vehicles affected being Audi models. Of the three brands, Audi has already made some progress, having announced a software fix for the issue, although this needs to be cleared by the US regulator. "We fully intend to work on solutions to present to regulators within this window of time," an Audi spokesperson said, reports Automotive News.
