From 2014 onwards, software which manipulated air pollution tests was discovered in vehicles from some car makers; the software recognized when the standardized emissions test was being done, and adjusted the engine to emit less during the test. The cars emitted much higher levels of pollution under real-world driving conditions. Some cars' emissions were higher even though there was no manipulated software.
Researchers have criticized the inadequacy of current regulations and called for the use of a UN-sanctioned test called Worldwide harmonized Light vehicles Test Procedures that better reflects real-life driving conditions. The test only came into force in 2017, with critics saying that car firms lobbied fiercely to delay its implementation due to the high cost of meeting stricter environmental controls.[3]
Conservative Internal Market spokesman Daniel Dalton[4] – who led the legislation through the European Parliament – described the previous regulations as "at best patchy and at worst ineffective." He further said that his latest 2018 report introduced a strong, transparent system to ensure cars are safe and meet emissions standards.
Nitrogen oxide (NOx) on-road emissions by manufacturer and capacity
Average NOx emission (g/km)
Euro 6 NOx emission limit (g/km)
Since 2016, 38 out of 40 diesel cars tested by ADAC failed a NOx-test.[6]
Background
Early in the 1950s scientists discovered that vehicle emissions were a significant factor that had been causing the air quality to deteriorate.[7] This led to the introduction of vehicle emissions standards in California in 1966, furthermore due to the seriousness of the problem, in 1970 the Clean Air Act was introduced in order to regulate these standards all over the United States.[7] Eventually, other countries including European Nations, Australia, Japan and India followed suit. The United States as well as the other countries who followed were quick to act since vehicle emissions became a public health risk.[8] The introduction of these emission standards produced satisfying results, from 1975 to 1996 carbon emissions dropped 76.3% of the initial levels in 1975.[8] Correspondingly, studies estimate that the introduction of these policies averted 19,008 deaths from 1975 to 1996.[8]
In January 2017, VW pleaded guilty to the emissions scandal and agreed to pay US$4.3 billion in penalties. As of January 2019, 13 VW employees have been indicted, including former CEO Martin Winterkorn. In addition, two former executives (Oliver Schmidt and James Robert Liang) have pleaded guilty in US court and sentenced to prison terms.[10][11]
Rigging Motives
The 2015 scandal was likely caused by the increasingly strict standards set, paired with the lack of technology to meet these requirements.[citation needed] Moreover, another possible reason for this scandal outbreak is cost. In order for automakers to comply with these standards, they must spend from $800 up to $3,000 more per vehicle.[12]Volkswagen confessed that they could not comply with the policies in the amount of time they had when the standards became more strict in 2005.[citation needed] After much analysis of the Volkswagen company, the rigging was allowed for so long due to failing internal policies.[citation needed]
Audi & Porsche
In July 2019, Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) (German Environmental Aid) published a press release in which it states that Porsche-vehicles equipped with Audi-diesel-engines of the Euro 5 and Euro 6 emission standards exceed the limit values for nitrogen oxides (NOx ) many times over.[13]
The statutory NOx limit for diesel passenger cars Euro 5 is 180mg NOx/km. The Porsche Panamera equipped with the VW-EA897 engine, made by Audi, exhibited an 8.3-fold limit violation with an average NOx emissions of 1,498mg/km, according to DUH. According to DUH data, the measurements were made at outside temperatures between +10 and +14°C. Two Porsche Cayenne with the EA897evo engine (Euro 6) are said to have exceeded the applicable limit of 80mg/km NOx in normal mode by 3.6 or 4.2 times. Limits exceeding by the Cayenne in normal mode increases according to DUH in sport mode with the same driving style by two times. Also the arranged software update by the Federal Motor Transport Authority (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt) does not prevent exceeding the limit. A tested Porsche Cayenne, emission standard Euro 6, exceeds the limit by 2.4 times at +10 to +16°C with an average of 191mg NOx/km after the software update. In addition, the vehicle with a carbon dioxide emissions of 179 g CO2/km is permitted, but in real operation on the road, according to DUH, the emissions are on average 241 g CO2/km. In addition to the diesel passenger car Audi A8 4.2 TDI with emission standard Euro 6, which according to own data was measured on average 1,422mg NOx/km, also showed further new measurements on Audi Models High NOx Limit Exceedances. An examined Audi SQ5 plus 3.0 TDI with emission standard Euro 6, with the same engine generation (EA897evo) as the Porsche Cayenne, emits an average of 441mg NOx/ km at outside temperatures between +4 and +11°C. The measurements were carried out by the DUH according to the press release on the road using PEMS.
Initiated by the measurements, the DUH called on the manufacturers to publish a complete overview of all installed defeat devices for every diesel vehicle and to commit themselves to repair the diesel exhaust gas cleaning for all affected diesel buyers to help a legally compliant vehicle – or to reimburse them the full purchase price. It also announced that it will make the measurements results available to law enforcement agencies, the European Antitrust Authority and all concerned stakeholders and their lawyers. At the same time the DUH renewed their criticism of the Federal Motor Transport Authority and of Andreas Scheuer (Head of Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure), who according to the DUH-President on the one hand restraint documents about the detected defeat devices in the vehicles, despite final convictions for disclosure, and secondly prevent officially ordered hardware retrofits.
Even though up to 2018 there were increasingly specific allegations of defeat devices in the control software for Mercedes-Benz U.S. cars, Mercedes-Benz denies the charges. As of June 24, 2019 Daimler insisted its diesels didn't break the law. European vehicle emissions rules were loosely written. Turning down or switching off emission controls to protect the engine in certain circumstances – such as lower temperatures – was allowed.[15] Earlier, Feb 2018, German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported that US authorities investigating Mercedes have discovered that its vehicles are equipped with illegal software to help them pass United States' stringent emission tests. The claimed defeat devices include a Bit 15 mode to switch off emissions control after 16miles of driving (the length of an official U.S. emissions test), and Slipguard which tries to directly determine if the car is being tested based on speed and acceleration profiles.[16][17][18]
In June 2019 Daimler recalled 60,000 Mercedes diesel powered cars in Germany, the model affected is the Mercedes-Benz GLK 220 SUV produced between 2012 and 2015, car is fitted with software aimed at distorting emissions tests. Germany's vehicle authority, the Federal Motor Transport Authority is looking to extend investigations of cheating devices reportedly used in Daimler's C-Class and E-Class OM642 and OM651 engines. The number could be as high as 700,000 vehicles.[19][20]
In September 2019, Daimler was fined 870 million euros in Germany for "negligent violation of supervisory duties" in relation to not fully complying with emissions regulations.[21]
In 2022, Mercedes settled for $5.5 million in Arizona.[22]
BMW
BMW was implicated in an "emissions cartel" which sought to restrict design standards for AdBlue fuel additive. They were fined €875m along with VW in July 2021.[23]
In 2018 BMW recalled 11,700 cars which had incorrect emissions software installed to some diesel cars. The company denied using defeat devices, as suggested by the KBA.[24]
BMW was sued in 2018 when certain models were named as producing several times more nitrogen oxide emissions than laboratory tests indicated. They were accused of colluding with Robert Bosch GmbH and LLC to produce defeat software to hide the cars' true emissions.[25]
Opel/Vauxhall (General Motors)
Opel, a German brand then-owned by General Motors, was caught using a defeat device in Europe in 2015.
The engine software changed the engine behavior based on whether two or four wheels were rotating. In an Opel Zafira front-wheel-drive vehicle, the NOx emissions were within the 80mg/km legal limit – but only when the vehicle was on a test stand, with the front wheels rotating and the rear wheels being stationary. When the rear, unpowered wheels were made to rotate too (which is how a front-wheel-drive vehicle behaves on the road), the NOx emission were twice the limit (cold engine) or three to four times the limit (warmed-up engine).[26][27][28]
Opel Zafira NOxemissions, mg/km[28] (all tests performed on the same car)
Despite the facts, Opel denied using defeat devices, called the tests "untrustworthy" and "incomprehensible", and one of the scientists involved in testing the car and discovering the discrepancy, Professor Jan Czerwinski from the Bern University of Applied Sciences, was pressured into issuing a statement to a news agency saying that "the facts could be distorted, incomplete or tendentious for various reasons". That was despite those tests being done according to the established (and undemanding) NEDC procedure.[28][29]
Opel publicly demonstrated (while representatives from the TÜV Hessen were present) a Zafira that met the NOx emission limits.[29] At the same time, Opel started clandestinely pushing an engine software update that limited NOx emissions in Zafiras that were already on the road, and was caught doing so by Belgian journalists from the VRT news station. The software update dramatically lowered NOx emissions in the cars, and was installed in customers' cars during service center visits without their knowing.[30][31][32][33][34]
In 2021, Opel paid a 64.8 million euro fine in Germany.[35]
Fiat Chrysler
On 12 January 2017, the EPA issued a notice of violation to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) alleging that over 100,000 model year 2014, 2015, and 2016 diesel SUVs and trucks, including Dodge Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee trucks, had software that allowed them to exceed NOx pollution limits, undetected by the usual testing methods. The EPA discovered this during their expanded vehicle tests following the Volkswagen case. FCA was not accused of intentionally cheating on emissions testing, though the EPA did accuse the company of failing to notify the government of the defeat device programming. The US Justice Department was assisting the EPA in their investigation, suggesting the possibility of criminal charges. This is all while FCA executives were hopeful that after the inauguration of President Donald Trump it would be possible to "work with the new administration to try and get this issue behind us", according to FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne.[36][37] Executives denied any wrongdoing but started to make extensive changes to their vehicle software to address the EPA's concerns.[38]
As part of a January 2019 settlement, Fiat Chrysler recalled and repaired approximately 100,000 automobiles equipped with a 3.0-litre V6 EcoDiesel engine having a prohibited defeat device, pay $311 million in total civil penalties to US regulators and CARB, pay $72.5 million for state civil penalties, implement corporate governance reforms, and pay $33.5 million to mitigate excess pollution. The company will also pay affected consumers up to $280 million and offer extended warranties on such vehicles worth $105 million. The total value of the settlement is worth about $800 million, though FCA did not admit liability, and it did not resolve an ongoing criminal investigation.[39]
In October 2020, Fiat Chrysler faced a £5 billion class-action lawsuit in the UK due to over half a million Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Iveco and Suzuki vehicles having these defeat devices.
In connection with the mentioned software, Emanuele Palma, a diesel drivability and emissions senior manager at Fiat Chrysler, was charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, to violate the Clean Air Act and to commit wire fraud. Palma was also charged with six counts of violating the Clean Air Act, four counts of wire fraud and two counts of making false statements to representatives of the FBI and the EPA's Criminal Investigation Division (EPA-CID).[40] On 3 March 2021, Sergio Pasini and Gianluca Sabbioni, two Italian nationals and alleged co-conspirators of Palma, were indicted.[41]
In 2022 FCA US, formerly Chrysler Group, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the US, commit wire fraud, and to violate the Clean Air Act.[42]
Jeep
Jeep, also manufactured by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, was tested by the consumer group Which? and in March 2017 found to produce 1.74g/kmNOx compared to the 2009 European emission standards Euro 5 legal limit of 0.18g/km.[43] High level of pollutants were emitted by Jeep Grand Cherokee when its engine was hot.[44]
Ram
In December 2023, Cummins was fined $1.675 billion by the U.S. Justice Department for violations of the Clean Air Act.[45] Cummins was found to have installed devices designed to bypass or disable emissions controls on 960,000 Dodge and StellantisRAM pickup truck diesel engines between 2013 and 2023.[45][46] It will also pay $325 million in remedies and recalls.[47]
Renault
Renault issued press statements reaffirming their vehicles' compliance with all regulations and legislation for the markets in which they operate in 2015.[48]
Headquarters of Renault and Peugeot were raided by fraud investigators in January and April 2016, respectively. Renault subsequently recalled 15,000 cars for emission testing and fixing.[49][50][51]
Since 2015, Renault has been investigated by the French Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes (DGCCRF). Their 2017 report states "the suspicion of the installation of a 'fraudulent device' which specifically modifies the functioning of the engine to reduce emissions of NOx (nitrogen oxides) in conditions specific to the regulatory tests." It affects 900,000 vehicles. Renault Captur and Clio IV exceeded the threshold for carbon dioxide emissions by 377% and 305%.[52]
In 2019, Renault's Clio and Captur diesel models were found to emit more pollutants outside of official test conditions, their exhaust treatment did not work in everyday use when the outside temperature range was below or above those covering official tests.[53][54] Furthermore, their "NOx trap" devices did not run cleaning cycles below 50 kilometres per hour (31mph), causing those filters to clog and become ineffective.[53]
Nissan
In September 2015 Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said it would be difficult for an automaker to conceal internally an effort to falsify vehicle emissions data, as happened at Volkswagen AG: "I don't think you can do something like this hiding in the bushes."[55]
In May 2016, South Korean authorities accused Nissan of using a defeat device for manipulating emissions data for the British-built Nissan Qashqai, allegations which the Japanese carmaker denied.[56] In March 2017, Nissan vehicles tested by Which? were found to produce 0.81g/kmNOx compared to the 2009 European emission standards Euro 5 legal limit of 0.18g/km.[citation needed]
Toyota
A class-action lawsuit was filed against Toyota in 2019 in Australia, alleging that a total of 264,170 Toyota vehicles sold in the country had been fitted with defective diesel particulate filters. In April 2022, the Federal Court of Australia found that the diesel particulate filters in these vehicles were not of acceptable quality and that Toyota had engaged in "misleading or deceptive conduct" in marketing and selling the affected vehicles. After appeal, the Federal Court upheld its ruling in 2023.[57][58]
In 2022, a class-action lawsuit was launched against Toyota Australia, claiming that up to 500,000 Toyota vehicles sold in Australia since February 2016 contained emissions defeat devices.[59]
In January 2024, Toyota temporarily suspended shipments of over 10 vehicle models after discovering irregularities for certification tests for a number of its diesel engines. Production vehicles had used different electronic control units than those used during horsepower testing. The company stated it had sold about 84,000 vehicles with the affected engines during 2023, but didn't disclose total lifetime sales of the affected vehicles.[60]
Mitsubishi
In 2021, Mitsubishi paid a 25 million euro fine in Germany.[61]
Bosch
In 2019, Bosch paid a 90 million euro fine in Germany.[62]
In 2022, Bosch paid a $25 million fine in California.[63]
In 2022, Bosch settled for $525,000 in Arizona.[22]
In December 2023, Cummins was fined $1.675 billion by the U.S. Justice Department for violations of the Clean Air Act.[45] Cummins was found to have installed devices designed to bypass or disable emissions controls on 960,000 Dodge and StellantisRAM pickup truck diesel engines between 2013 and 2023.[45][46] It will also pay $325 million in remedies and recalls.[47]
The Volkswagen TDI diesel emissions case is not the first use of defeat devices by Volkswagen or other automakers nor the first time automakers have taken advantage of their foreknowledge of the specific lab test conditions in order to engage emissions controls only during testing, but not during normal driving.[65]
In 1973 Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Toyota, and Volkswagen had to remove ambient temperature switches which affected emissions, though the companies denied intentional cheating and said that strategies like enriching fuel mixture during cold engine warm-up periods could reduce overall pollution.[66][67][68] The switches were ordered to be removed from production but cars already on the road did not have to be recalled, and fines were relatively modest.[67][68]
In 1996, GM had to pay a near-record fine of $11 million, and recall 470,000 vehicles, because of ECU software programmed to disengage emissions controls during conditions known to exist when the cars were not being lab tested by the EPA.[69] The model year 1991–1995 Cadillacs were programmed to simply enrich the engine's fuel mixture, increasing carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbon (HC) pollution, any time the car's air conditioning or heater was turned on, since the testing protocol specified they would be off.[69]
In 1996, Fiat of Brazil paid a record fine because of the Fiat Mille Electronic, a very popular version of the Fiat Uno with a 1.0-litre engine. They sold 500,000 vehicles with a combination of carburettor and digital ignition that uses different strategies for laboratory or street driving conditions.[citation needed]
In 1998, Honda Motor Company had to spend $267 million to correct the disabling of the misfire monitoring device on 1.6 million 1996 and 1997 model year vehicles, and Ford Motor Company paid $7.8 million for programming 60,000 1997 Ford Econoline vans to exceed emissions standards during normal highway cruising speeds.[70]
The goal of both the Ford and the heavy truck defeat devices was better fuel economy than could be achieved under pollution limits.[71] The major truck manufacturers also had to spend up to $1 billion to correct the problem, which affected 1.3 million heavy duty diesel trucks.[65][71]
While Volkswagen's actions have precedents, the Center for Auto Safety's Clarence Ditlow said that Volkswagen "took it to another level of sophisticated deception we've never seen before."[65]
EU vehicle approval procedures
In May 2017, the 28 EU member states agreed to begin negotiations with EU institutions to revise the method of testing vehicle emissions towards real circumstances, with random testing of vehicles on the roads and fines for manufacturers who breach the rules.[72]
Eben Moglen has suggested in 2010 to make proprietary software source code in general accessible to the public, to curb cheating.[73][74]
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into the global brand it is known as today post-World War II by the British Army officer Ivan Hirst, it is known for the iconic Beetle and serves as the flagship brand of the Volkswagen Group, the largest automotive manufacturer by worldwide sales in 2016 and 2017. The group's biggest market is China, which delivers 40 percent of its sales and profits. Its name is derived from the German-language terms Volk and Wagen, translating to "people's car" when combined.
Volkswagen AG, known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of passenger and commercial vehicles, motorcycles, engines and turbomachinery. Headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany, and since the late 2000s is a publicly-traded family business owned by Porsche SE, which in turn is half-owned but fully controlled by the Austrian-German Porsche and Piëch family. The company also offers related services, including financing, leasing, and fleet management. In 2016, it was the world's largest automaker by sales, and keeping this title in 2017, 2018, and 2019, selling 10.9 million vehicles and was the largest automaker by revenue in 2022. It has maintained the largest market share in Europe for over two decades. It ranked seventh in the 2020 Fortune Global 500 list of the world's largest companies. In Forbes Global 2000 2023 Volkswagen Group ranked 29th.
The Volkswagen Golf is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) produced by the German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen since 1974, marketed worldwide across eight generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates – including as the Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada, and as the Volkswagen Caribe in Mexico (Mk1).
Emission standards are the legal requirements governing air pollutants released into the atmosphere. Emission standards set quantitative limits on the permissible amount of specific air pollutants that may be released from specific sources over specific timeframes. They are generally designed to achieve air quality standards and to protect human life. Different regions and countries have different standards for vehicle emissions.
The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards for pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and European Economic Area member states and the United Kingdom, and ships in EU waters. The standards are defined in a series of European Union directives staging the progressive introduction of increasingly stringent standards.
BlueTEC is Mercedes-Benz Group's marketing name for engines equipped with advanced NOx reducing technology for vehicle emissions control in diesel-powered vehicles. The technology in BlueTec vehicles includes a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system that uses diesel exhaust fluid, and a system of NOx adsorbers the automaker calls DeNOx, which uses an oxidizing catalytic converter and diesel particulate filter combined with other NOx reducing systems.
A NOx adsorber or NOx trap (also called Lean NOx trap, abbr. LNT) is a device that is used to reduce oxides of nitrogen (NO and NO2) emissions from a lean burn internal combustion engine by means of adsorption.
The Green Car of the Year is a Car of the Year award from the Green Car Journal. The winner is selected by an 11-member panel comprising automotive and environmental experts. Invited jurors have included Mario Andretti; Carroll Shelby, Jay Leno, Carl Pope, Christopher Flavin, Jonathan Lash and Jean-Michel Cousteau.
Martin Winterkorn is a German former business executive who was chairman of the board of management of Volkswagen AG, the parent company of the Volkswagen Group, chairman of the supervisory board of Audi, and chairman of the board of management of Porsche Automobil Holding SE. He succeeded Bernd Pischetsrieder as CEO of Volkswagen AG in 2007. Prior to that, he had been the chairman of the board of management of the Volkswagen Group subsidiary Audi AG.
The C-segment is the 3rd category of the European segments for passenger cars and is described as "medium cars". It is equivalent to the Euro NCAP "small family car" size class, and the compact car category in the United States.
A portable emissions measurement system (PEMS) is a vehicle emissions testing device that is small and light enough to be carried inside or moved with a motor vehicle that is being driven during testing, rather than on the stationary rollers of a dynamometer that only simulates real-world driving.
BlueMotion is a trading name for certain car models from the Volkswagen Group, emphasizing higher fuel efficiency.
The automotive industry in Germany is one of the largest employers in the world, with a labor force of over 857,336 (2016) working in the industry.
TDI is Volkswagen Group's term for its current common rail direct injection turbodiesel engine range that have an intercooler in addition to the turbo compressor.
The EcoDiesel is a diesel engine used in Ram Trucks and Jeep vehicles from 2014 to 2023. Introduced by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the EcoDiesel name was used for two different engines. The first was the VM Motori L630, the North American variant of the A 630 DOHC 3.0L engine, which was used in the Ram 1500 and the Jeep Grand Cherokee. The other was a 3.0L inline-4 Iveco diesel engine used in the Ram ProMaster, the North American version of the Fiat Ducato. The ProMaster with the Iveco/EcoDiesel was available from 2014 to 2017.
The Volkswagen emissions scandal, sometimes known as Dieselgate or Emissionsgate, began in September 2015, when the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act to German automaker Volkswagen Group. The agency had found that Volkswagen had intentionally programmed turbocharged direct injection (TDI) diesel engines to activate their emissions controls only during laboratory emissions testing, which caused the vehicles' NOx output to meet US standards during regulatory testing. However, the vehicles emitted up to 40 times more NOx in real-world driving. Volkswagen deployed this software in about 11 million cars worldwide, including 500,000 in the United States, in model years 2009 through 2015.
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) is an American multinational non-profit public policy think tank and research institute that provides technical, scientific, and policy analysis to environmental regulators on issues related to environmental, energy, and transportation policy. It is headquartered on K Street in Washington, D.C. and has a regional office in San Francisco, California, both in the United States, with international offices in São Paulo, Brazil; Berlin, Germany; and Beijing, China.
Michael Horn is a businessman and former chief executive officer and president of Volkswagen Group of America.
A defeat device is any motor vehicle hardware, software, or design that interferes with or disables emissions controls under real-world driving conditions, even if the vehicle passes formal emissions testing. The term appears in the US Clean Air Act and European Union regulations, to describe anything that prevents an emissions control system from working, and applies as well to power plants or other air pollution sources, as to automobiles.
Volkswagen, the German automotive company, has been involved in several controversies.
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