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Air
Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols said the agency is working
with the German automaker to test potential fixes for three
generations of Volkswagen cars equipped with 2.0-liter diesel
engines and pollution control systems improperly designed to
operate only during government pollution control tests.
Winning regulatory approval to repair, rather than buy back,
diesel cars that don't comply with U.S. clean air standards
would give a boost to Volkswagen's efforts to contain the
financial and reputational damage caused by the diesel emissions
cheating scandal. Nichols said VW is making strides in its
effort to regain credibility with regulators.
“They brought in a whole new team of people to work on various
aspects of this,” Nichols said in an interview. "There’s just a
greater sense that we’re dealing with people who have access to
the decision makers in Germany, and who understand their
credibility is on the line."
Nichols' positive words about VW are significant because the
state of California is working with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency to evaluate the automaker's proposed fixes.
In January, the Air Resources Board rejected a Volkswagen
proposal to repair rigged diesel emissions systems, saying it
fell "far short of meeting the legal requirements."
Volkswagen officials, Nichols said, have told California
officials they believe combinations of hardware and software
could be developed to allow all three generations of 2.0-liter
diesel cars sold between 2009 and 2016 to stay on the road.
VW spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan said on Thursday the automaker
"continues to work with the EPA and CARB to develop approved
emissions modifications as quickly as possible. If proposed
modifications are approved by the EPA and CARB, Volkswagen will
modify eligible vehicles free of charge" for owners of the
affected vehicles.
The EPA said in a statement it will work "in close coordination
with our partner CARB, will test potential emissions
modifications for the three different generations of the
2.0-liter vehicles as they are developed and submitted by VW."
Under the terms of a $14.7 billion settlement with state and
federal regulators, Volkswagen must offer to buy back cars it
sold in the United States between 2009 and 2016 that had
2.0-liter diesel engines with emissions control systems designed
to cheat government tests.
The company has admitted pollution controls on these cars were
rigged to function properly only during government emissions
tests. Federal and California authorities alleged the controls
were deactivated during normal driving to extend the life of the
equipment, improve mileage or avoid noisy or rough engine
performance.
However, if Volkswagen can satisfy regulators that repairs will
significantly reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen and other
pollutants, the company could offer consumers a choice to keep
their cars, and possibly reduce the costs of the settlement for
the automaker.
Volkswagen must show it can improve the performance of the
non-compliant vehicles to within 80 to 90 percent of the
pollution standards.
State and federal regulators would consider the cars in
compliance even if they fall short of the legal limits because
Volkswagen has agreed to put up to $2.7 billion over three years
into a fund to reduce diesel pollution from other sources, such
as older buses, Nichols said.
Nichols added that there been no progress on developing a repair
for about 85,000 Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche cars sold with
3.0-liter diesel engines that also have pollution control
systems programmed to defeat emissions tests.
Volkswagen lawyer Robert Giuffra said at a court hearing this
month he expects the company will meet a July 29 deadline to
make a submission for fixing certain 2.0-liter cars.
Volkswagen has admitted to selling 11 million diesel vehicles
worldwide with rigged emissions systems, including 475,000 cars
in the United States.
(Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and
Andreas Cremer in Berlin)
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