Skip to main content

Air Resources Board rejects VW diesel recall plan

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has rejected Volkswagen Group of America’s submitted recall plan for 2-litre diesel passenger vehicles sold in California between 2009 and 2015, saying it is incomplete. CARB also notified VW of violations of California air quality regulations associated with the company’s use of a ‘defeat device’ in those cars. "Volkswagen made a decision to cheat on emissions tests and then tried to cover it up,” said CARB Chair Mary D. Nichols. “They continued and compounded
January 13, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has rejected Volkswagen Group of America’s submitted recall plan for 2-litre diesel passenger vehicles sold in California between 2009 and 2015, saying it is incomplete. CARB also notified VW of violations of California air quality regulations associated with the company’s use of a ‘defeat device’ in those cars.  

"994 Volkswagen made a decision to cheat on emissions tests and then tried to cover it up,” said CARB Chair Mary D. Nichols. “They continued and compounded the lie and when they were caught they tried to deny it. The result is thousands of tons of nitrogen oxide that have harmed the health of Californians. They need to make it right. Today's action is a step in the direction of assuring that will happen."

The rejection does not preclude a recall, but allows for a broader array of potential remedies. CARB will continue its investigation and technical evaluations with EPA to return the vehicles to legally required emission levels, determine mitigation for past and future environmental harm, and assess penalties.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • ITS needs continuity at the policy-making level
    February 1, 2012
    ITS needs to be sold to politicians in plainer terms and we need to be encouraging greater continuity at the policy-making level says Josef Czako, chairman of the IRF's Policy Committee on ITS. At the ITS World Congress in New York in 2008, the International Road Federation (IRF) held the inaugural meeting of its Policy Committee on ITS. The Policy Committee's formation, says its chairman, Kapsch's Josef Czako, reflects an ongoing concern over the lack of deployment of ITS technology on roads in anything li
  • C-ITS in Europe: It’s the governance, stupid!
    March 3, 2023
    Cooperative ITS (C-ITS) is coming – in fact, it’s already here. But who has responsibility for making it work? Richard Lax of Kapsch TrafficCom thinks there are lessons to be learned from the European experience
  • What actually happens if we do #FreetheMIBs?
    May 1, 2020
    Q-Free’s #FREEtheMIBs campaign highlights the use of manufacturer-specific data output, storage and communication protocols in traffic lights and ITS systems.
  • VW presents electric mobility research
    April 23, 2012
    Volkswagen, in cooperation with six project partners and the German Ministry of the Environment, is presenting the current status of the ‘Fleet study in electric mobility’ that was initiated in July 2008. The primary goal of the project, which runs until June 2012, is to consistently utilise renewable energy sources for electrically powered vehicles. Within the framework of the fleet study, Volkswagen is using a total of 20 of the latest generation Golf Variant TwinDrive cars as research vehicles.