Volkswagen emissions scandal: VW to make electric vehicles as compensation
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has directed Volkswagen to manufacture electric vehicles at its Tennessee plant as compensation for the emissions rigging scandal. Volkswagen has also been asked to build a network of charging stations in the United States for electric vehicles. This was reported by the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag which did not reveal the source for the story.
The German carmaker is still in talks with the US Environmental Protection Agency to arrive at a solution for the vehicles affected by the emissions scandal. Volkswagen has previously admitted to selling nearly six million diesel vehicles that were equipped with a 'defeat device'.
This software has the ability to detect when the car is being tested for emissions, and automatically reduces the emissions to the permissible limits for the duration of the test. When the test is complete, the engine returns to the regular driving mode, which when tested, produced 40 times the permitted level of nitrogen oxide (NOx).
Some of the car models sold by Volkswagen in the US already get electric or hybrid motors. The report by Welt am Sonntag didn't clarify whether the EPA was asking VW to produce new models or alter existing ones.
"Talks with the EPA are ongoing and we are not commenting on the contents and state of the negotiations," a Volkswagen spokesman said. The US Environmental Protection Agency has not made any comment.