Volkswagen AG has submitted a plan to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board, which proposes to fix nearly 80,000 of the recalled 3.0-liter diesel vehicles that emit more than nine times the legally permissible pollution.
On Tuesday, Volkswagen Group of America submitted the intended plan, which will bring Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen cars that have six-cylinder 3.0-liter diesel engines at par with the air quality standards and guidelines dictated by the board and the agency.
The Board confirmed the receipt of the proposal from Volkswagen, but David Clegern, a spokesman for the California Air Resources Board, desisted from commenting on any other details until an additional review is conducted.
The plan has also been received by the EPA, which is simultaneously carrying out an investigation into the violation of the rules. Laura Allen, a spokesperson for the EPA, has let on that the agency will be reviewing the plan.
The Volkswagen proposal covers the fixing of the following diesel cars:
• 2009-2016 VW Touareg
• 2013-2016 Porsche Cayenne
• 2014-2016 Audi A6 Quattro
• Audi A7 Quattro
• Audi A8
• Audi A8L
• Audi Q5
• 2009-2016 Audi Q7
The emission problem affects nearly 85,000 vehicles that have 3.0-liter diesel engines and were sold in the United States from 2009 to 2015. The affected vehicles include some Audi and Porsche SUVs that are sold under the umbrella of the Volkswagen Group.
Of the affected vehicles, approximately 16,000 to 17,000 cars are operational in California, Clegern said. Volkswagen faces a stop sale in the United States, which debars the German automaker from selling 2016 diesel models.
In November 2015, regulators in California and the United States had said that the automaker deployed auxiliary software - which was not declared - to enable the vehicles from Porsche, Audi and Volkswagen to emit extra emissions that were detrimental for the environment.
A deadline of Tuesday had been set for the automaker to submit a proposal to recall and fix the diesel engine vehicles that were designed by the Audi unit.
"We are fully cooperating with the U.S. authorities to make our V6 3.0L (diesel) engine compliant with regulations. After meetings between EPA and (California) and our technicians, we filed a recall plan," said Mark Clothier, spokesperson for Audi of America.
The proposal offers the German carmaker the chance to win regulatory approval so that it can begin selling its diesel cars once again.
The Air Resources Board (ARB) has revealed that it intended to give the proposal a "thorough and complete review to make sure the plan addresses" the excessive emissions problem. Audi is hopeful that the ARB will soon give a decision on the proposal.
