Turkey may revise vehicle emissions testing methods: Official
ANKARA / BERLIN - Reuters
A VW Golf VII car (R) and a VW Passat are loaded in a delivery tower at the plant of German carmaker Volkswagen in Wolfsburg, Germany in this March 3, 2015 file photo. Reuters Photo
Turkey will revise its vehicle emissions testing methodology if it finds that emissions between idling and moving vehicles vary significantly, an environmental ministry official said Sept. 29.The official’s comments come after Volkswagen’s admission it rigged diesel emissions tests in the United States.
“The VW incident is quite new. We generally test exhaust gas controls at vehicle examination stations. During these tests, VW models meet the limits as others do. The U.S. authorities made emission tests both in idling and moving vehicles. And around a 40-fold difference was seen between these tests...We have been following the whole process very closely. If there are sharp differences in emissions between idling and moving vehicles, all countries, including Turkey, need to adopt a new concept in vehicle emissions testing,” said the official.
Senior Volkswagen executives will soon examine findings from an internal investigation into its rigging of vehicle emission tests and prepare for an external inquiry, a source told Reuters.
The executive committee of the German carmaker’s supervisory board was due to gather on Sept. 30 at its Wolfsburg headquarters to assess the initial results of the internal inquiry into the biggest business-related scandal of its 78-year history, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A representative of U.S. law firm Jones Day, which is expected to lead the external investigation, will attend part of the meeting, the source added.
Europe’s largest carmaker has admitted to cheating in diesel emissions tests in the United States. Germany’s transport minister says it also manipulated tests in Europe, where Volkswagen sells about 40 percent of its vehicles.
The company is under huge pressure to come to respond to the crisis, which has wiped more than a third off its market value, sent shock waves through the global auto industry and could damage Germany’s economy.
New Chief Executive Matthias Mueller, who took over from Martin Winterkorn last week, has promised to punish those responsible and to create a new business culture.
Winterkorn, CEO for almost nine years, is being investigated by German prosecutors over allegations of fraud.
Investors view the external probe as particularly important, given the close links of Mueller and chairman-designate Hans Dieter Poetsch to the Piech-Porsche clan that controls the carmaker.
Volkswagen said on Sept. 29 it would refit up to 11 million vehicles installed with the “cheat” software in one of the biggest such recalls by a single automaker.
It has promised to submit details to regulators next month, with customers anxious to know whether the mileage and efficiency of their vehicles will be affected.