British cars face retests in diesel scandal
Government orders inquiry as other firms are pulled into emissions cheating claims
ALL new models of diesel cars on sale in Britain face being retested, the Government announced last night as ministers launched their own investigation into the Volkswagen scandal.
Patrick McLoughlin, the Transport Secretary, announced an inquiry amid suspicions that other motoring giants could have rigged emissions data.
Tests on diesel cars could be re-run to ensure the lab results tally with “road testing” after it emerged that some VW models have emissions 40 times higher than those calculated in the lab.
Other manufacturers face being brought in to the scandal. Figures from the International Council on Clean Transportation – the body which first noted the VW discrepancies – suggested that Hyundai, Renault and Volvo models would fail emissions tests under forthcoming European rules.
Mr McLoughlin said: “The Vehicle Certification Agency, the UK regulator, is working with vehicle manufacturers to ensure that this issue is not industry wide. As part of this work they will rerun laboratory tests where necessary and compare them against real world driving emissions.
“We have called on the EU to conduct a Europe-wide investigation into whether there is evidence that cars here have been fitted with defeat devices. My priority is to protect the public as we go through the process of investigating what went wrong and what we can do to stop it happening again.” In other developments yesterday:
The German government confirmed that VW had manipulated emissions in Europe as well as in the US.
It emerged that Martin Winterkorn, the VW chief executive, is in line for a €60million (£44 million) pay-off despite being forced to resign.
Two of the group’s highest ranking-engineers are also being forced to quit, according to reports in Germany.
Shares in BMW fell by 10 per cent as the German firm was forced to deny claims it had cheated tests like VW.
Volkswagen has been reeling since
the US Environmental Protection Agency revealed last Friday that the group had rigged its diesel cars to pass emissions tests, potentially laying itself open to criminal charges and substantial fines.
Mr Winterkorn has resigned after taking responsibility for the crisis, which could cost VW billions in classaction lawsuits both in America and Europe. He could depart with a payout of more than €30 million as well as a pension pot which is thought to total almost €29 million.
Experts have been warning for months that almost all car companies’ quoted emission figures are inaccurate. Peter Mock, the Europe managing director at International Council on Clean Transportation, told the German publication “All measured data suggest that this is not a VW-specific issue.”
The magazine also claimed tests have shown that BMW’s X3 xDrive20d emits the air pollutant nitrogen oxide at a level 11 times higher than the legal European limit.
ICCT denied being involved in the test last night. BMW denied manipulating or rigging diesel emissions.
In a further blow for the German car industry, Alexander Dobrindt, the transport minister, confirmed “defeat devices” were also installed in VW’s European models. “We have been informed that also in Europe, vehicles with 1.6 and 2.0 litre diesel engines are affected by the manipulations that are being talked about,” he said.
Other car companies that manufacture diesels have denied any policy of cheating emissions tests.