Environmental regulators have turned down Volkswagen’s initial proposal for fixing the fallout from its diesel emissions scandal.
In September 2015, VW admitted to manipulating the software in some 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide so they would appear to meet environmental standards during emissions testing when, in fact, they did not.
Nearly 600,000 vehicles for model years 2009 through 2015 are affected in the United States, including those with 2- and 3-liter diesel engines.
In December, Volkswagen submitted a plan for bringing the affected vehicles into compliance with environmental regulations. But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) have now rejected the automaker’s suggestion, which was to recall all its 2-liter diesel vehicles.
CARB and the EPA denied VW’s proposal, saying it lacked sufficient detail. The agencies indicated the plan would not bring the affected vehicles into compliance with regulations and would not reduce pollution.
In addition to rejecting Volkswagen’s proposal, CARB also issued the German automaker 13 new violation notices.
Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller recently said at the Detroit Auto Show that he was hopeful the plan would be approved. Similarly optimistic, Volkswagen CEO Michael Horn has said that fixes would be complete at the end of 2017.
But now, with the rejection of its proposed remedy and the 13 new violations, Volkswagen will need to rethink its course of action.
Jason J. Thompson
Jason Thompson is a nationally board certified trial attorney and co-chairs Sommers Schwartz’s Complex Litigation Department. He has a formidable breadth of litigation experience, including class action and multidistrict litigation (MDL), and practices nationwide in both state and federal courts.
