VW told to recall 500,000 cars after US government accuses it of dodging clean air standards

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Volkswagen Jetta TDI

Volkswagen

Volkswagen Jetta TDI.

The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the recall of 500,000 Volkswagen cars.

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According to Coral Davenport of the New York Times, the EPA accused VW of using hidden software - called a "defeat device" - to dodge clean air standard during emissions testing.

"Using a defeat device in cars to evade clean air standards is illegal and a threat to public health," assistant administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance said Cynthia Giles said in a statement.

"Working closely with the California Air Resources Board, EPA is committed to making sure that all automakers play by the same rules. EPA will continue to investigate these very serious matters."

In response to the recall, Volkswagen issued the following statement to Business Insider.

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"Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., Volkswagen AG and Audi AG received today notice from the US Environmental Protection Agency, US Department of Justice and the California Air Resources Board of an investigation related to certain emissions compliance matters. VW is cooperating with the investigation; we are unable to comment further at this time."

The recall affects 482,000 diesel powered cars sold in the US since 2008. They include:

  • Volkswagen Jetta TDI: 2009-20015
  • Volkswagen Beetle TDI: 2009-2015
  • Audi A3 TDI: 2009-2015
  • Volkswagen Golf TDI: 2009-2015
  • Volkswagen Passat TDI: 2014-2015

This story is developing. We will update when more information is available.