VW Emissions Scandal: Now it’s CO2 emissions on 800,000 cars

Volkswagen has revealed it has ‘made a mistake’ in the official fuel economy and CO2 emissions on 800,000 VW, SEAT, Skoda and Audi cars.

It seems there’s a lot more hiding in Volkswagen’s bag of dirty tricks than has been revealed with the #dieselgate scandal, with the German car giant now confessing that the official economy and CO2 emissions of at least 800,000 cars from VW, SEAT, Skoda and Audi have been wrongly stated.

VW are giving few details – beyond the numbers affected – at the moment, but it’s thought that the ‘error’ affects VW’s 1.4 litre petrol engine as well as BlueMotion diesels. They say they are setting aside £1.4bn to address the issue, a sum which – per car – is more than three times that they initially set aside for the  dieselgate cars.

But that seems to be a modest amount – around £750 per car – when you factor in that most owners will be paying tax based on the emissions of their cars, and an overstatement of the economy (and, by definition, an understatement of the CO2 emissions), the compensation costs could be huge – and ongoing.

Matthias Müller, VW’s new boss, said:

From the very start I have pushed hard for the relentless and comprehensive clarification of events. We will stop at nothing and nobody. This is a painful process, but it is our only alternative. For us, the only thing that counts is the truth. That is the basis for the fundamental realignment that Volkswagen needs

The Board of Management of Volkswagen AG deeply regrets this situation and wishes to underscore its determination to systematically continue along the present path of clarification and transparency.

This latest revelation comes on top of the EPA’s claim that they have found software on VW’s 3.0 litre diesel engine that affects emission levels during official testing.

Where is this going to end?