VW engineers admit CO2 data fixed as goals tough
Print Edition
SEVERAL Volkswagen engineers have admitted manipulating carbon dioxide emissions data, saying the ambitious goals set by former CEO Martin Winterkorn were difficult to achieve, Bild am Sonntag reported.
The paper said VW engineers tampered with tire pressure and mixed diesel with their motor oil to make them use less fuel, a deception that began in 2013 and continued until the spring of this year.
“Employees have indicated in an internal investigation that there were irregularities in ascertaining fuel consumption data. How this happened is subject to ongoing proceedings,” a VW spokesman said, declining to comment on the Bild report.
Volkswagen on Tuesday said it had understated the fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions of about 800,000 vehicles sold in Europe and later said it would foot the bill for extra taxes incurred by drivers.
The latest allegation has deepened a crisis which erupted in September when Volkswagen admitted it had rigged US tests for nitrogen oxide emissions. Analysts say the company could face a bill as high as 35 billion euros (US$38 billion) for fines, lawsuits and vehicle refits.
Bild said Winterkorn declared at the Geneva auto show in March 2012 that VW wanted to cut its CO2 emissions by 30 percent by 2015 and the engineers did not dare to tell him this would be hard to achieve.
Volkswagen has declined to comment on whether the firm’s culture or the management style of Winterkorn, who resigned in September, had been a factor in the cheating. Lawyers for Winterkorn have not responded to a request for comment.
An engineer at VW’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, who works in the research & development department, broke his silence at the end of October and told his superiors about the large-scale deception, Bild said citing only what it said was information it had received.
The paper said VW was looking at which employees to suspend following the revelations but said the engineer who made the deception known would be allowed to stay.
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