“On average, the nitrogen oxides emission level in the new test cycle was more than double the Euro 6 limit value”, says Dr. Peter Mock, Managing Director of ICCT Europe. The highest emission levels in WLTC were found for a Volvo (14.6 times the limit), a Renault (8.8 times the limit) and a Hyundai (6.9 times the limit) vehicle. A BMW model had the lowest emission level (70 percent below the Euro 6 limit).
“The results indicate that the implementation of nitrogen oxides control technologies by a few manufacturers is delivering acceptable results over both cycles. Other manufacturers seem to be focusing on meeting emission limits over the current test cycle while neglecting real-world operating conditions”, says Dr. Vicente Franco, a researcher at the ICCT and co-author of the study.

After admitting to using software that only controls diesel emissions when a car senses it's being government tested, Volkswagen is pursuing a ​pretty bold legal defense. In a letter sent to European regulators this week, a top VW Europe official claims that the automaker's cheating software might not be illegal under current EU pollution testing laws. And as crazy as that sounds, it may not be a far-fetched defense.

That's because, as The New York Times reports, Europe's emissions testing regulations contain a gargantuan loophole that could make Volkswagen's unfolding scandal disappear entirely. And European regulators have known about it for at least four years.

As NYT reports:

The loophole lets carmakers change the performance settings of their engines before a pollution test. "A manufacturer could specify a special setting that is not normally used for everyday driving," British regulators warned, according to minutes of a 2011 meeting in Geneva of officials across the region.​

So when Volkswagen's Paul Willis writes that the automaker is still considering "whether the software in question officially constituted a defeat device," he's being brash, but not unreasonable.

Europe's regulations specify that ​"the settings of the engine and of the vehicle's controls shall be those prescribed by the manufacturer."​ That's a very broad definition—one that would seem to allow a specific software setting that's only triggered during government emissions testing, as Volkswagen's diesel cheating software has been found to do.

This discovery only further highlights the porous nature of Europe's vehicle emissions laws. The EU's system allows automakers to submit preproduction vehicles for testing, and tweaks that would never be performed by a typical consumer—like removing the rear seats to reduce weight, or sealing up panel gaps with tape—are allowed under the EU's current rules, NYT reports.

But while these finicky changes might add up to marginal improvements in testing, allowing an automaker to specify the engine management software used during emissions testing opens up a whole new level of emissions trickery. And Europe's system, which lacks central oversight, allows automakers to submit to testing in any of the 28 member states, with results being recognized across the EU.

​"What we have developed is a phony system of testing where the member states [of the European Union] are in competition with each other for who can make it the most easy for the car manufacturers to pass the test," Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, a Dutch member of the European Parliament, told NYT.

Now, it's up to the EU to determine whether VW's tricks actually broke the vaguely-worded law. Lucia Caudet, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, told NYT in an email that the governing body has "no formal view" on whether the software in question counts as "a 'defeat device' in the EU legal sense or not."

BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen said its manipulations of carbon dioxide emission levels affect more petrol-powered engines at the German carmaker than it had previously disclosed.

VW said on Nov. 3 it had understated the level of CO2 emissions in around 800,000 predominantly diesel-powered vehicles, with some models using a 1.4 liter petrol engine.

A spokesman said on Monday that more petrol engines were implicated by the CO2 violations, adding to a statement the carmaker had released after business hours on Friday.

The first proposed fix for one of the VW diesel engines affected by emissions-cheating software has been delivered to transportation authorities in Germany, Automotive News Europe reports.

The automaker delivered details of a solution for the 1.6-liter diesel engine used in some 540,000 VW Group cars in the country, to the Federal Motor Transportation Authority (KBA). The KBA is now in the process of evaluating the fix. VW has not shared specifics of the proposed solution with the media at this point, though the engine is believed to require both a hardware and software fix.

Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller suggested that the modifications to this engine will involve the installation of a larger catalytic converter and a switch to a different type of a injection nozzle, at the very minimum.

More importantly, a spokesman for VW told Automotive News Europe that the company has already developed proposed fixes for all of the affected diesel engines except for the 1.2-liter version, a variant not sold in North America. A proposed solution for that engine is expected soon as well.

News of a fix comes at a delicate time for VW, with the automaker having admitted to CO2 emission discrepancies in more than a million cars in recent days. The CO2 figure issue is separate from the diesel issue and is not expected to involve a recall, since it is believed to be a testing calibration issue that pertains to a car's emission classification for regulatory purposes as well as advertising to consumers.

The announcement of a potential fix also confirms the suggestion that different diesel engines implicated in the crisis will require different fixes: The 1.6-liter engine in question will require both software and hardware tweaks, but analysts expect that other diesel engines will merely require software adjustments. In Europe alone, some 8.5 million cars are believed to possess diesel engines containing emissions cheating software.

VW is expected to present proposed fixes for other diesel engines in the coming weeks.

Volkswagen Group of America may soon disclose how it intends to fix 482,000 2.0-liter diesel vehicles with illegal emissions software, the company’s chief said today.

At a Los Angeles auto show press conference, VWoA CEO Michael Horn addressed the elephant in the room, saying: “I am personally hopeful that we will be able to announce something soon about the remedies that we have identified and which we are discussing with the agencies in the upcoming days.”

The automaker is approaching a Friday deadline to submit draft plans for the fixes to the California Air Resources Board. CARB and the EPA must approve VW’s repair plans before a recall can begin.

Horn said VW’s “goodwill” program introduced on Nov. 9 will help the company maximize the number of vehicles that are repaired once the fix is available. VW is collecting owner addresses when customers sign up for the program, Horn said, which will help the company target recall communications when updates are ready.

Horn said about 120,000 customers have signed up for the goodwill program so far, which offers eligible 2.0-liter TDI owners a $500 prepaid Visa card, $500 in dealership credit and three years of 24-hour roadside assistance.

“Let me be very clear to you: We will take care of our customers, but this will take time, and this responsibility is one that I don’t take lightly,” Horn said.

Horn, noting his remarks come two months to the day since the EPA revealed VW’s emissions violations, again apologized and acknowledged the “anger” and “frustration” felt by VW’s diesel owners. He also said he has been “honored” with many emails from customers expressing support for Volkswagen.

“All these reactions are fully understandable since also everybody at Volkswagen of America feels exactly those same emotions,” Horn said.

But until a fix is ready, “we can’t stop apologizing,” Horn said. “We completely understand that apologies aren’t enough.”

VW has said three generations of 2.0-liter diesel engines containing the illegal software will each require different repairs. About 325,000 of the vehicles using the first generation of VW’s 2.0-liter diesel will require software and hardware changes, Horn told a panel of U.S. lawmakers on Oct. 8. Those changes could be extensive.

About 67,000 newer vehicles with third-generation diesels meet emissions standards and can be made compliant with a software update alone, Horn told lawmakers.

The roughly 90,000 2012-14 Passats using the second-generation 2.0-liter diesel will need a software update, but it’s unclear if they will need hardware changes also.