The U.S. Department of Justice has recently turned up the heat in the VW emissions scandal.
It’s been five months since Volkswagen (VW) came clean about its dirty emission testing practices, and the scandal continues to blacken its brand.
Most recently, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil complaint against VW over the company’s practices. The action stems from its admission in September that it used software to alter emissions during testing on 2.0 diesel models sold to consumers all over the world. The cheating affected about half a million diesel vehicles in the U.S. and a whopping 11 million internationally.
The Justice Department action alleges that VW’s duplicity resulted in emissions that significantly exceeded Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards, and that they further violated the Clean Air Act with cars designed differently from what was specified in applying for certification with the EPA and the California Air Resources Board.
Criminal charges were not filed, nor were individuals singled out. However, Justice Department officials did accuse the company of being uncooperative.
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VW’s cheating on emissions testing dates back a decade, after the start of a major initiative to bring more diesel vehicles into the U.S. market. Volkswagen’s technology couldn’t measure up to emissions standards for smog-forming pollutants – standards which its executives publicly termed as unrealistic.
In the aftermath of the cheating scandal, Volkswagen’s chief executive resigned and nine employees were suspended. The company has been working on repairing both the design issues with the cars in question and the damage to its brand. This action by the Justice Department, on behalf of the EPA, only hinders its attempts to rehabilitate its image.
The Justice Department action does not spell out what Volkswagen must do to remedy the problem and reduce emissions. Neither does it specify a dollar amount that the corporation should be penalized. Both will be up to a federal court. However, penalties laid out under the Clean Air Act suggest that Volkswagen could be facing fines in excess of $19 billion.
Beyond the anticipated fines, Volkswagen is experiencing unprecedented sales declines as a result of the scandal. The automaker experienced its first drop in VW brand sales in 11 years in 2015, with deliveries falling 5.3% in October, 2.4% in November and 7.9% in December in year-over-year comparisons.
