VW ‘admits manipulating emissions tests in Europe, too’, says minister

Volkswagen cheated emissions tests in Europe as well as the U.S., Germany’s transport minister has said. Vehicles with 1.6 and 2.0 litre diesel engines were “affected by the manipulations that are being talked about,” Alexander Dobrindt said. However, it was unclear how many of the 11million vehicles affected are in Europe, he added. Meanwhile, more heads are set to roll over the controversy, which has already cost the company’s chief executive his job and sent the share price crashing.

It is clear that the Federal Office for Motor Traffic will not exclusively concentrate on the VW models in question but that it will also carry out random tests on vehicles made by other carmakers.

Transport minister Alexander Dobrindt

The scandal centres on “defeat devices” which VW used to fool US emissions tests on diesel cars into believing the vehicles met environmental standards. At least 482,000 cars are to be recalled and the car maker could face penalties of more than $18bn in the US alone. Volkswagen will start firing people responsible for manipulating the tests on Friday, company sources have said. The carmaker’s supervisory board will not only reveal a successor to chief executive Martin Winterkorn at the meeting, but will also give initial findings from an internal investigation into who was responsible.

I am shocked by the events of the past few days. Above all, I am stunned that misconduct on such a scale was possible in the Volkswagen group.

Martin Winterkorn

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