France's Energy Minister has demanded national automakers ensure similar testing procedures to those currently engulfing Volkswagen in the US have not been carried out as an "in depth inquiry" is launched.
The German manufacturer is in the teeth of a diesel emissions storm, which has already seen nearly 500,000 cars recalled and after admitting some 11m vehicles are fitted with engines which had differences between laboratory testing and real life use.
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The scale of the scandal currently swirling around Volkswagen can be seen from a statement issued today (22 September) from the German automaker, which notes discrepancies relate to the 11m vehicles with Type EA 189 engines and which showed “noticeable deviation” between bench test results and actual road use.
The Franco-German spat threatens to ignite yet another bitter war of automotive words between Paris and Berlin, which last year saw France's highest Court formally overturn a sales ban concerning Mercedes-Benz's A, B, CLA and SL models.
The contentious registration suspension in 2014 by France's Ecology Ministry in protest at Mercedes insistence on using r134y refrigerant instead of less-polluting r1234yf alternatives manufactured by Honeywell and Dupont, saw around 5,000 vehicles prevented from being delivered, but the Conseil d'Etat officially poured cold water on the ban.
However, the latest flare-up between the European Capitals has seen Energy Minister, Segolene Royal, under whose tutelage France's Transport Ministry lies, wade into the furore, which has involved Volkswagen ordering US dealers to block sales of some of its 2015 diesel cars after Washington government regulators found software it designed for the affected vehicles gave false emissions data.
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By GlobalDataRoyal – widely viewed as the third power in France behind President François Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls – noted her Ministry – following the revelations by the Federal American Agency for Environmental Protection (EPA) concerning polluting emissions – would start a thorough investigation.
“I have asked the EPA to provide all pertinent information so as to understand the nature of the fraud and ways to detect it,” said Royal.
“I have equally asked the Union Technique de L'Automobile (UTAC), du Motocycle and du Cycle, the technical service tasked by the French State on behalf of the European Commission, to carry out homologation tests, on the one had to be closer to the EPA and on the other hand, to suggest action to me.”
Volkswagen is moving quickly to try and plug a fast unravelling situation, saying it is: “Working at full speed to clarify irregularities concerning a particular software used in diesel engines" and "to cover the necessary service measures and other efforts to win back the trust of our customers.”
The automaker plans to book a charge "of some EUR6.5bn" (US$7.2bn) in the third quarter of this financial year, but also insisted current diesel vehicles sold in the European Union comply fully with local emission laws.
"Discrepancies relate to vehicles with Type EA189 engines, involving some 11m vehicles worldwide,” said a Volkswagen statement. “A noticeable deviation between bench test results and actual road use was established solely for this type of engine.
“Volkswagen is working intensely to eliminate these deviations through technical measures. The company is therefore in contact with the relevant authorities and the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA – Kraftfahrtbundesamt)."
