German Authorities Say Volkswagen Was Alone in Cheating

Aaron Cole
by Aaron Cole

German transportation authorities said Friday that Volkswagen can’t phone a friend for help, they’re on their own.

“At this point we have no indication of other manufacturers being involved,” a government spokesman, said according to Reuters (via Automotive News Europe).

Being the only automaker embroiled in the scandal — for now — means that Volkswagen will have to face alone the wrath from governments tripping over themselves to charge the automaker with just about anything they want. In the U.S., Volkswagen faces a pending congressional inquiry; in France, prosecutors have opened an investigation for “aggravated deception;” in Italy, the government’s antitrust authority has begun an investigation; in Switzerland — you get the idea.

It’s unclear whether the transportation ministry’s statement absolves other automakers from exceeding legal limits for emissions.

The International Council on Clean Transportation reported in its findings that the BMW X3d exceeded by 11 times the legal limit for nitrogen oxide, but the German automaker consistently denied that it had “manipulated” results.

“We observe the legal requirements in each country and adhere to all local testing requirements,” BMW said in a statement. “When it comes to our vehicles, there is no difference in the treatment of exhaust emissions whether they are on rollers or on the road.”

Aaron Cole
Aaron Cole

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  • Waftable Torque Waftable Torque on Oct 02, 2015

    Can't wait for North Korea, Zimbabwe, and Venezuela join in on the lawsuits to rebalance their currency, er, to express outrage about this scandal.

  • APaGttH APaGttH on Oct 02, 2015

    For the love of God SOMEONE has to make a Downfall (Hitler movie) parody of this whole debacle. It just screams for it to be done!

  • Pdl2dmtl Pdl2dmtl on Oct 03, 2015

    German authorities spoke too soon. We'll see how this unfolds in the coming months. I do not wish ze others to be found guilty of something but in this case they should have kept their mouth shut for the time being.

  • TOTitan TOTitan on Oct 04, 2015

    Thats why BMW diesels have carbon build up issues when driven mostly short trips. When the EGR valve is working enough to control emissions CBU occurs. Until a few days ago I owned both. The tdi was mostly used for short trips and never had an issue. When the EGR valve doesnt open theres no CBU. I use the 335d exclusively for trips of more than 20 miles and road trips so I have not had CBU issues but if I had used it the same way I used the tdi it would have been a different story. When the dieselgate story broke I kept shopping dealers until I found one that would give me a fair trade in and a good deal on a '16 Golf sportwagen SE tsi. That finally happened six days ago. The new MQB platform and 1.8L tsi are amazing but I had to work my ass off to make it happen.

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