page_title: Volkswagen
section_title: US diesel emission fraud
hierarchical_section_title: Volkswagen / Controversy / Environmental record / US diesel emission fraud
caption_attribution_description: 2009 Volkswagen Jetta photographed at the 2009 Montreal International Auto Show.
context_page_description: Volkswagen, shortened to VW, is a German automaker founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front, known for the iconic Beetle and headquartered in Wolfsburg. It is the flagship marque of the Volkswagen Group, the largest automaker by worldwide sales in 2016 and 2017. The group's biggest market is in China, which delivers 40% of its sales and profits.
  Volkswagen translates to "people's car" in German. The company's current international advertising slogan is just "Volkswagen", referencing the name's meaning.
context_section_description: On 18 September 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said beginning in 2008 the automaker improperly installed engine control unit (ECU) software determined to be a "defeat device", in violation of the Clean Air Act, to circumvent environmental regulations of NOₓ emissions by diesel engine 2009–2015 model year Volkswagen and Audi cars. The software detects when the cars were being subject to emissions testing, and then fully enabled ECU emission controls to successfully pass. However, during normal driving conditions, emission control software was shut off in order to attain greater fuel economy and additional power, resulting in as much as 40 times more pollution than allowed by law. Consumer Reports tested a 2011 Jetta SportWagen TDI and found in emissions mode its 0–60 mph time increased by 0.6 seconds and its highway fuel economy dropped from 50 mpg to 46 mpg. Volkswagen admitted to using the defeat device, and has been ordered to recall approximately 482,000 cars with four-cylinder 2.0-liter TDI engines. United States federal penalties may include fines ranging up to US$18 billion, and possibly criminal charges. On 28 June 2016, Volkswagen agreed to pay a settlement of $15.3 billion, the largest auto-related consumer class-action lawsuit in the United States history.
  In May 2014, the EPA was first alerted to the issue by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), reporting results of research commissioned for them by West Virginia University's Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines and Emissions (CAFEE). After 15 months of denying the emissions control systems were deliberately gamed and instead claiming discrepancies due to "technical" reasons, on 21 August Volkswagen acknowledged to the EPA and California Air Resources Board (CARB) their emission controls systems were rigged. This was followed by a formal announcement of admission to regulators on 3 September which took place immediately after the EPA threatened to withhold approval for their 2016 cars. Volkswagen's initial public response came on 20 September, when a spokesman said they would stop all US sales of the diesel models affected. Chairman Martin Winterkorn issued an apology and said Volkswagen would cooperate with investigators. Since emission standards in Canada are close to those in the US, Volkswagen Canada also halted sales of the affected diesel models. on 22 September 2015, Volkswagen spokesman admitted that the defeat device is installed in ~11 million vehicles with Type EA 189 diesel engines worldwide.
  On the first business day after the news, Volkswagen's stock price declined 20% and declined another 17% the following day, the same day a social media advertisement with Wired about "how diesel was re-engineered" was removed as well as a series of YouTube ads titled "Diesel Old Wives’ Tales". On Wednesday, 23 September, Volkswagen chief executive officer Martin Winterkorn resigned. Volkswagen hired Kirkland & Ellis law firm for defense, the same firm that defended BP during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
  On 2 November 2016, the EPA issued a second notice of violation (NOV) pertaining to certain diesel 3.0-liter V6 equipped Audis, Volkswagen Touaregs and Porsche Cayennes. The EPA found beginning with the 2009 model year all vehicles powered by the V6 were non-compliant. During testing the EPA, CARB and Transport Canada discovered software that activates pollution reduction systems when the automobiles are being driven under federal test conditions, otherwise during real world driving these devices are inactive. Volkswagen disputed the EPA's findings stating their software was legally permitted, however shortly after Volkswagen issued a stop-sale for the EPA's disputed vehicles and additional models the EPA did not question.
  In March 2016, the US Federal Trade Commission sued Volkswagen for false advertising, because Volkswagen's "clean diesel" vehicles were less environmentally friendly than advertised.
  In November 2016, Volkswagen and its labour unions agreed to reduce the workforce by 30,000 people until
caption: The 2009 Volkswagen Jetta Diesel Sedan was awarded Green Car of the Year. The award was rescinded in early October 2015.
exif: {"Image Make": "Polaroid", "Image Model": "i531", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "96", "Image YResolution": "96", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "00.01.0446a", "Image DateTime": "2009:01:17 17:23:45", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "Copyright 2007", "Image ExifOffset": "282", "Image ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "Image WhiteBalance": "Auto", "Image DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "Image Sharpness": "Normal", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "1", "Thumbnail YResolution": "1", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "3842", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4740", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/13", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "50", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2009:01:17 17:23:45", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2009:01:17 17:23:45", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "35123/15360", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "3657/1000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "297/100", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "297/100", "EXIF MeteringMode": "MultiSpot", "EXIF LightSource": "Flash", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired", "EXIF FocalLength": "31/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2560", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1920", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed"}