VW admits to more cheating

Germany's largest carmaker said Friday that around 85,000 of its 3.0-liter V-6 diesel cars and SUVs needed software upgrades to bring them into compliance with environmental protection standards.

The admission was significant because until now, Volkswagen has dismissed assertions by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California's Air Resources Board (ARB) that at least 10,000 of its Audi, Porsche and VW cars and SUVs were emitting more nitrogen oxide than allowed.

Volkswagen did admit to some cheating with its larger luxury vehicles, saying that engines from the 2014 to 2016 model years contained software capable of discerning between laboratory testing and real-world driving.

But now the car company has said affected models date back all the way to 2009.

"That should have been reported," ARB spokesman Dave Clegern was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying.

The latest mea culpa came on the same day that Volkswagen managers were meeting with authorities to inform them of the company's plans to recall around 482,000 four-cylinder diesel cars that had been outfitted with the so-called "defeat devices."

cjc/hg (Reuters, AP, AFP)