The California Air Resources Board and Environmental Protection Agency says that Volkswagen has submitted a plan to fix 80,000 recalled 3.0 litre diesel SUVs and cars that emit up to nine times legally allowable emissions.
After more than four months of lengthy talks, and making little apparent progress towards winning approval to begin fixing any US VW diesel vehicles with excess emissions, the comprehensive proposal for 3.0 litre vehicles submitted by VW offers the German automaker a chance to finally win approval to start selling diesel vehicles again.
US and California regulators said in November that the German automaker used undeclared auxiliary software to allow Audi, Porsche and VW vehicles to emit excess emissions.
The disclosure came six weeks after the EPA said VW had engaged in emissions cheating in 482,000 cars with smaller 2.0 litre engines that allowed vehicles to emit up to 40 times legally allowable pollution.
California had set a Tuesday, February 2, deadline under state law for VW to submit a plan to recall and fix the vehicles with diesel engines that were designed by its Audi unit.
The plan covers:
- Diesel 2009-2016 VW Touareg;
- 2013-2016 Porsche Cayenne;
- 2014-2016 Audi A6 Quattro, Audi A7 Quattro, Audi A8, Audi A8L, Audi Q5; and
- 2009-2016 Audi Q7.
The Air Resources Board (ARB) says it will give the 3.0 litre proposal a “thorough and complete review to make sure the plan addresses” excess emissions.
Audi says it hopes ARB will make a decision on whether to approve the plan in the “near future.”
Last month, California rejected VW’s proposal to fix 482,000 2.0 litre cars, calling it “substantially deficient.”
