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German public prosecutors to probe VW emissions scandal

Xinhua, September 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

German public prosecutors on Wednesday said they would launch a probe into the Volkswagen emissions scandal.

The public prosecution office in the northern city of Brunswick said in a statement that they would initiate investigations against the employees involved in the emissions scandal.

It added that the investigations were launched because citizens had filed several criminal complaints.

The "preliminary investigations" will focus on collecting information and analysis of criminal charges, said the statement.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that the software on VW diesel cars showed false emission data.

The software installed by Volkswagen in its cars has violated the Clean Air Act, the U.S. EPA said in a statement last week.

The software called as "defeat device" by the EPA can turn on full emission controls only when the car is undergoing emission tests to make the car meet the legal emission standards, but during normal driving, the car will emit nitrogen oxides at up to 40 times the standard.

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

The allegations cover roughly 482,000 diesel passenger cars sold in the United States by Volkswagen AG, Audi AG, and Volkswagen Group of America since 2008. The models include Jetta, Beetle, Golf, Passat and Audi A3.

The EPA also said "Volkswagen may be liable for civil penalties," which means the German carmaker could face penalties of up to 37,500 U.S. dollars per vehicle, the maximum fine for violating the Clean Air Act, or a total of more than 18 billion U.S. dollars.

"The Board of Management at Volkswagen AG takes these findings very seriously. I personally am deeply sorry that we have broken the trust of our customers and the public. We will cooperate fully with the responsible agencies, with transparency and urgency, to clearly, openly, and completely establish all of the facts of this case," Martin Winterkorn, CEO of Volkswagen AG, said in a statement on Sunday. Endit