11:29 am, November 13, 2015
THE British boss of VW has suggested that the ‘defeat devices’ which triggered the diesel emissions scandal in the US could be legal under current European pollution testing regulations.
In a written response to the Parliamentary Transport Select Committee, Paul Willis, MD of Volkswagen Group UK, said the German KBA automotive watchdog had confirmed that the software function fitted to the V6 TDI engine, the so-called defeat device, was ‘not problematic’ and conformed to current EU legislation.
As part of a detailed response to the select committee, the letter added: ‘Volkswagen accepts that software was used in type EA189 diesel engines that optimises NOx emissions during the emissions tests used to determine type approval in the EU. It is still being determined whether the software in question officially constituted a ‘defeat device’ in the EU.’
It further continued: ‘I should also explain that the legal limits on NOx apply only during testing… There is no legal limit for NOx when vehicles are on the road. It is well known, both inside and outside the industry, that there is a discrepancy between NOx emissions during testing conditions and during real world driving.’
In the covering letter Willis wrote that ‘potential irregularities in the determination of CO2 levels is a separate issue’.
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