Mexican Media Brands
VW Likely to Avoid Fines in Germany for Cheater Diesels
Volkswagen AG appears likely to avoid any fines in Germany for doctoring millions of diesels to evade the country’s emission standards—as long as it completes a series of recalls to bring the cheater engines into compliance.
#regulations
Share
Volkswagen AG appears likely to avoid any fines in Germany for doctoring millions of diesels to evade the country’s emission standards—as long as it completes a series of recalls to bring the cheater engines into compliance.
VW admits manipulating the emission control systems in 11 million diesels worldwide, including 8.5 million in Europe and 2.5 million in Germany. But Germany's Transport Ministry says the carmaker’s only responsibility is to fix the engines.
Critics disagree. Opposition Green Party member Oliver Kirscher, who is heading a parliamentary investigation into the matter, complains that the government’s position “gives a blank check for tricks and deception.”
Kirscher and other critics want VW to compensate its German customers with a program akin to the $15.3 billion settlement the carmaker agreed to in the U.S. Affected owners in that market, where emission limits and regulatory fines are tougher, will receive an average $5,100 (€4,600) in addition to either having their cars fixed or bought back by VW.
Applying the same payout amount in Germany alone would cost the company about €11.5 billion.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Self-Driving Chevy Bolt Ticketed for Driving Too Close to Pedestrian
Police in San Francisco ticketed the backup driver in a self-driving Chevrolet Bolt for allowing the car to drive too close to a pedestrian in a crosswalk in San Francisco.
-
U.S. in No Hurry to Regulate Autonomous Vehicles
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the emerging technology involved in self-driving cars is too new to be tightly regulated.
-
Toyota Targets 2021 Launch for V2V Tech in U.S.
Toyota Motor Corp. plans to expand its vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology to the U.S. by 2021 and offer it across most Toyota and Lexus models in the country by mid-decade.