BERLIN: The latest setback comes a day after USA authorities accused VW of fitting nitrogen oxide defeat devices on its larger 3.0 litre diesel vehicles – charges which VW denied. The disclosure came after VW itself instituted a program of retesting cars for emissions, a move taken as part of an internal investigation by the company following the revelations of emissions-cheating software in 2.0-liter diesel engines in late September of this year.
Buyers & regulators piled more pressure on Volkswagen on Wednesday. after the company stated it had understated carbon dioxide emissions for 800,000 automobiles, widening its scandal over cheating on USA engine tests.
The Audi stop-sale order encompasses 2014 through 2016 A6, A7, A8, and Q5 models equipped with the 3.0-liter V6 diesel engine, as well as 2013 through 2015 Q7 diesels.
Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen AG has already set aside euros 6.7 billion ($7.2 billion) to address its emission crisis. VW has said 11 million vehicles worldwide were affected by that software, and has pledged to spend billions of dollars bringing them into compliance.
Late Tuesday, VW said it had also found “unexplained inconsistencies” in emissions from a few of its vehicles of carbon dioxide.