There's relief all round at Volkswagen Group today as it looks like the vast car maker's current diesel engine range is not running the same dodgy software as the now-infamous EA189 diesels of 2008 to 2012. The current EA288 engine lineup had been thrown into the controversy last week when the US Environmental Protection Agency announced that it was investigating the current engines for the same sort of 'Defeat Device' software as was used on the older lineup.
Thankfully for Volkswagen, that now seems not to be the case - if it had been, it might have been forced to pull all current 1.6 and 2.0-litre diesel Volkswagen, Skoda, Audi and SEAT cars from sale and that would have been a financial blow from which even Volkswagen might not have recovered.
"Volkswagen confirms today that no software constituting an improper defeat device as defined in law is installed in vehicles with EA 288 EU5 as well as EU6-engines in the European Union. Consequently, new vehicles of the Volkswagen Group offered within the European Union with those engines comply with legal requirements and environmental standards" read a statement from Volkswagen.
"After thorough examination it is now confirmed that no software constituting an improper defeat device as defined in law is installed in vehicles with EA 288 EU5-engines. Before, Volkswagen Group has confirmed that new EU6-compliant vehicles offered within the European Union fulfil all legal requirements and environmental standards."