VW Submits Repair Plan for Some of Its Cheater Diesels in Europe

Volkswagen AG has provided details to Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) about proposed modifications to bring 540,000 of its diesel power vehicles in the country into emission rule compliance.

VW acknowledges that as many as 11 million of diesels in its “EA 189” engine family, including 8.5 million units in Europe, were rigged with software to cheat government emission tests.

The EA 189 diesels are 4-cylinder units displacing between 1.2 and 2.0 liters. The plan submitted to KBA applies to 1.6-liter engines, Automotive News Europe reports. VW says it expects to finalize repair plans for other affected diesels no later than the middle of December.

The nature of the repairs wasn’t disclosed. But VW indicated earlier that modifications are likely to include revised fuel injectors and a larger catalytic converter.

Last month Transport Minister Alexander Dohbrindt estimated VW will need to rebuild or exchange about 3.6 million of its diesels in Europe. ANE says the company's supply chain may need until next September to make enough parts to handle the recall.

Some engines can be brought into regulatory compliance with a software adjustment, according to the company. If KBA agrees to VW’s repair plan, other countries are likely to adopt it too.