German authorities have given scandal-hit Volkswagen a 7 October deadline to set out a timeline for bringing all its diesel cars in line with national pollution guidelines, a newspaper said this morning. The federal motor vehicle office (KBA) told VW to set out “binding measures and a timetable” by the deadline showing how it will meet emissions standards without resorting to software that rigs test results, Bild am Sonntag reported. If Volkswagen fails to meet…

The software used in Volkswagen’s diesel cars to trick emissions testers in the US was also built into its European vehicles, according to Germany’s transport minister. Volkswagen has admitted that 11 million vehicles worldwide were fitted with the software, which conned testers into believing their vehicles met environmental standards. Alexander Dobrindt, Germany’s transport minister, said the company had confirmed the affected vehicles include cars with 1.6-litre and 2-litre diesel engines in Europe. “We don’t yet…

The European Commission wants all member states to investigate into how many cars use illegal “defeat” devices to cheat emissions tests in light of the scandal at Volkswagen, a Commission spokeswoman said today. Volkswagen has said 11 million of its diesel cars around the world could be implicated after the US Environmental Protection Agency revealed VW had been using software to mask pollutants. “We are inviting all member states to carry out an investigation at…

Brussels, 23 September 2015 – In light of the latest emission testing news, ACEA recognises the gravity of the situation and is taking this very seriously. However, we cannot comment on an issue affecting one individual company. There is no evidence that this is an industry-wide issue. In the EU, the legal requirements concerning motor vehicle pollutant emissions currently refer to a test cycle performed under common laboratory conditions. All Euro 6 diesel cars on…

The Garda Commissioner has proposed the creation of a new motoring offence to penalise drivers who fail to carry special emergency equipment in their cars. According to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act, gardaí want to make it an offence not to carry a working torch, breakdown triangle, high-visibility vest, first-aid kit and a fire extinguisher at all times while driving. Earlier this year the Road Safety Authority held a public consultation about…

The US government has ordered Volkswagen to recall almost 500,000 cars after discovering that the company deployed sophisticated software to cheat emission tests allowing its cars to produce up to 40 times more pollution than allowed. The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday accused VW of installing illegal “defeat device” software that dramatically reduces nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions – but only when the cars are undergoing strict emission tests. “Put simply, these cars contained software…

Automotive News is reporting today that Volkswagen and Audi sold about 482,000 diesel vehicles with illegal emissions control software designed to make their cars appear cleaner in testing than they are in the real world, the EPA said today. The software, included on VW and Audi vehicles from the 2009-15 model years with 2.0-liter turbodiesel engines, detects when a car is undergoing EPA emissions testing and turns on the vehicle’s full emissions controls. The software…

The European new-car market grew by 11.5 per cent in August compared to a year earlier, reports JATO Dynamics, the world’s leading provider of automotive intelligence. The market grew by 8.9 per cent year-to-date compared to 2014. The European new-car market recorded growth of 11.5%, the third time this year double-digit growth has been achieved. Germany increased sales by over 13,000 units compared to August 2014, while Spain achieved over 11,000 more units registered. Cyprus,…