President of the Volkswagen Group (VW) in the United States, Michael Horn, today faced a barrage of criticism in the US Congress by the trick of diesel engines and acknowledged that most of the 500,000 vehicles affected continue to pollute at least until 2017.
Horn appeared for two hours before a group of the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives to try to answer questions from Congress about the actions of the Volkswagen Group in the scandal.
The president left many key questions unanswered and proclaimed his previous ignorance of both handling turbodiesel engines of the German company and details of illegal software that hides the actual vehicle emissions.
Horn did acknowledge that the goal of illegal software implemented in management control systems diesel engines sold between 2008 and 2015 in the US was to hide the Environmental Protection Agency of that country (EPA) motor did not meet emissions standards for nitrogen oxides that nation.
When asked by the committee chairman, Republican Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania, whether VW installed software “for the express purpose” to hide their emissions, Horn said “yes, was installed for this purpose”.
But the German government, 51 years old, said he had no knowledge until 1 September this year, two days before that the Volkswagen Group admitted to EPA that the vehicles were handled and 17 days before it was public that cars were loaded.
Until then, Horn only knew that their vehicles did not meet emissions standards Thanks to a study conducted in early 2014 by independent researchers, but the parent company in Germany had been informed that the problem could be fixed by installing a new software
“At the time. – he explained, had no idea that it was handling apparatus (emissions) and had no indication “that it had been installed in VW.
In his testimony before the same committee, senior EPA, Christopher Grundler, revealed today that VW has yet to provide basic information about the handling of turbodiesel engines and that the agency does not know if the company can fix the affected vehicles.
“We continue many questions that VW has to answer, “admitted Grundler when asked if” has absolute knowledge “of how the software installed by Volkswagen to hide their cars emit nitrogen oxides, a carcinogenic product works up to 40 times more than allowed .
Grundler also revealed that EPA has already begun to perform additional testing for party tricks.
During his appearance, Horn repeatedly apologized for his inability to answer specific questions of congressmen, sometimes because the parent company in Germany had provided no information and other because, he said, “I’m not an engineer.”
What the CEO himself could explain is that there are three generations of engines affected and that the solution to remove the illegal software, meeting US emissions standards, it’s just easier for the latest model, the third generation models installed in 2015 and 2016.
For the rest, 430,000 of the 500,000 affected vehicles in the United States, the solution is more complicated because it requires the installation of new equipment and, in many cases, not be available until 2017.
This is those cars will broadcast for over a year oxide levels, products considered carcinogenic by the authorities, up to 40 times higher than allowed.
Horn explained that VW is investigating internally to determine who is responsible deception and will suffer the consequences of their actions.
However, the US Congress repeatedly expressed frustration with Horn responses, especially when the executive tried to shift the responsibility of the scandal “a couple “programmers in Germany responsible for writing the code.
Horn said that” this was something that made individuals “and not a corporate decision.
The Michigan Republican Congressman Fred Upton warned the president that “Volkswagen will pay a high price for their dirty little secret”.
Other representatives suggested to Horn that what the company has to do it is to compensate the owners of vehicles that VW sold souped them different product than was advertised, or refund the price paid.
On the proposal of the Democratic Representative Jan Schakowsky that VW pay car owners affected to avoid emissions until they are fixed, Horn said the company can not do it “because EPA has said that the vehicles are safe”.
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