VW to stop delivery of 2016 diesel models

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Volkswagen plans to withdraw applications seeking U.S. emissions certifications for its 2016 model Jettas, Golfs, Passats and Beetles with diesel engines, the latest hit to the German automaker’s credibility and bottom line.

Thousands of new vehicles already manufactured and shipped to the U.S. will remain quarantined in ports. That’s a huge loss for American VW dealers, who were hoping to put the new models on sale soon in the wake of last month’s admission the company had installed on-board computer software designed to cheat on government emissions tests in nearly 500,000 “clean diesel” cars starting with the 2009 model year.

For some VW dealers, the diesel models accounted for about a third of sales.

It was not immediately clear when, or if, the 2016 diesels will be delivered.

The withdrawal of emissions applications was revealed Wednesday in written testimony submitted by Volkswagen Group of America CEO Michael Horn to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Horn is scheduled to appear before the panel today, and witnesses typically are required to provide a copy of their prepared remarks a day in advance.

Horn’s testimony says VW was withdrawing its applications for the 2016 diesels because they include software that should have been disclosed to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which must certify them for sale in the country. The automaker is working with the EPA and California regulators to continue the certification process, the testimony said.

Today’s appearance will be the first on Capitol Hill by Horn, a 51-year-old German and veteran VW manager who took the reins of the brand’s American subsidiary last year. He is expected to face blistering questions about when top executives at the company first learned of the scheme.

VW spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Horn will tell Congress he only learned about the cheating software “over the past several weeks.”

Also scheduled to testify today are two officials at the EPA who oversee emissions testing and compliance with clean-air rules.

VW first confessed the deception to U.S. regulators Sept. 3, more than a year after researchers at West Virginia University first published a study showing the real-world emissions of the company’s Jetta and Passat models were far higher than allowed. The same cars had met emissions standards when tested in the lab.