September 26, 2015•Update: September 26, 2015
By Barry Eitel
SAN FRANCISCO
The Environmental Protection Agency told automobile manufacturers Friday that it is intensifying emissions testing following a discovery that Volkswagen used software to cheat on previous emission exams.
The agency will begin road-testing vehicles instead of relying exclusively on laboratory assessments. It will soon begin testing for emissions violations all light vehicles currently available in the U.S..
“EPA may test or require testing on any vehicle at a designated location, using driving cycles and conditions that may reasonably be expected to be encountered in normal operation and use, for the purposes of investigating a potential defeat device," EPA wrote in a letter addressed to automakers, adding that “manufacturers should expect that this additional testing may add time to the confirmatory test process.”
In a conference call with journalists, the EPA said it will keep its new testing regimen confidential.
“We aren't going to tell them what these tests are,” Christopher Grundler, the director of the EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, explained during the call. “They don't need to know.”
Even though the agency is facing heat following the Volkswagen cheating accusations, Grundler also pointed out that previous testing measures were “very successful.”
Last Friday, EPA accused the German carmaker of utilizing software to trick laboratory emission tests for almost 500,000 vehicles running on diesel fuel, since 2009. As the scandal unfolded, it was revealed that roughly 11 million vehicles globally were emitting toxic nitrogen oxides at a rate up to 40 times beyond American regulations.
Numerous fines and lawsuits have been lodged at the Volkswagen, and its CEO resigned Wednesday. Friday, the company annaounced Porsche brand chief Matthias Mueller would become the new chief executive.
“My most urgent task is to win back trust for the Volkswagen Group – by leaving no stone unturned and with maximum transparency, as well as drawing the right conclusions from the current situation,” Mueller said in a statement.
