by
N. Peter Kramer
Volkswagen remains at the heart of the scandal to install illegal software that lowered dangerous emissions to legal limits for test purposes then allowed them to jump back up to levels up to 40 times greater during normal driving.
It looks as though the Government of Angela Merkel is guilty of tolerating automakers polluting with impunity. As is ‘Brussels’. A few months ago the European Parliament, on the initiative of the (Germans led) European Peoples Party, watered down new stricter regulations for car makers proposed by the European Commission.
VW top executive Schmidt has agreed to plead guilty in a US Court to covering up the fraud. Another VW executive Liang has already pleaded guilty to charges related to cheating. A third VW executive, the Italian Pamio, has been arrested in Munich on charges related to the emissions fraud. Probably these three executives will not be the last ones who have to appear in US courts.
New revelations potentially implicate German automakers Daimler (Mercedes) and BMW in illegal collusion with VW to hold down the prices of crucial technology including emissions equipment. The allegations could plunge Germany’s flagship industry, already battered by Volkswagen’s emission-cheating scandal, into a fresh crisis.
Friday last week VW’s Audi division followed Daimler’s and BMW’s plans to upgrade emissions software on diesel vehicles across Europe. They have good reason to act; the public is losing their faith in the integrity of German carmakers. High pollution has prompted several European cities to consider banning or limiting diesel vehicles. The British government announced recently that it will ban all new diesel cars by the 2040, following France’s announcement earlier in July to do the same.
Do these moves herald the end of the diesel engine? It is at least a challenge for carmakers to make less polluting vehicles.
