VW catches carbon break

VOLKSWAGEN Group has wound back on its own estimates that 800,000 of its cars had potentially been under-reported for CO2 emissions levels.

An internal audit into the wider cheat device issue had uncovered evidence of carbon dioxide emissions reporting breaches in at least 800,000 cars across the group, according to a report issued by the company in early November.

The German giant said that CO2 emission – and hence fuel consumption – figures have been set too low on a range of models sold in Europe. Now, however, VW says the CO2 figures on just nine models are out by only a few per cent.

Those models include the 1.0-litre petrol Polo, 2.0-litre diesel Scirocco, 1.2- and 2.0-litre diesel Jettas, 2.0-litre diesel Golf and Golf convertible, 1.4- and 2.0-litre diesel Passat and 2.0-litre Passat Alltrack.

“The deviations found in the figures for only nine model variants amount to a few grams of CO2 on average, corresponding to increased cycle consumption in the NEDC of approximately 0.1 to 0.2 litres per 100 kilometres,” the company said in a statement.

“With an annual production of approximately 36,000 vehicles, these model variants correspond to around only 0.5 per cent of the volume of the Volkswagen brand.”

A VW Group Australia spokesperson told GoAuto that none of the cars on the affected list are imported into Australia in those specifications.

Retesting of the nine models should be completed by Christmas, according to the company, and the car’s catalogue figures amended where necessary.

Volkswagen has provided this information to the German federal government and federal motor transport authority.

Meanwhile, the reshuffling of management positions continues apace in Wolfsburg, with a new round of appointments announced overnight.

Former group board member for procurement, Francisco Javier Garcia Sanz, will assume command of the diesel emissions re-mediation process, while VW has nominated Ralf Brandstatter to fill Mr Sanz’s role on the board.

Mr Brandstatter has worked at Volkswagen since 1993, and was most recently in charge of new vehicle launches.

Volkswagen has also named 30-year VW veteran Dr Frank Welsch as the new board member for development, replacing Heinz-Jacob Neusser, one of the first members of management to be stood down in the wake of the cheat code scandal.

The company has now apparently cleared Dr Neusser of any wrongdoing, announcing in a statement that he is now “available to take on other responsibilities in the company.”