Más Información
Volkswagen AG said a scandal over falsified U.S. vehicle emission tests could affect 11 million of its cars around the globe as investigations of its diesel models multiplied.
The scandal could also affect production at the company's plant in Puebla, where three of the five diesel models that use a software that deceived U.S. regulators measuring toxic emissions are manufactured: Jetta, Beetle and Golf.
The affected models are Jetta, Beetle, Golf and Audi A3 from 2009 to 2015, and Passat, 2014 and 2015.
Yesterday Rafael Moreno Valle, governor of Puebla, said that he will meet Volkswagen executives in the following days to talk about the subject.
The scandal “will affect sales, exports and production in the short term,” he explained.
Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn stepped down Wednesday over the scandal, in which the German carmaker admitted to rigging its diesel cars' emissions to pass U.S. tests.
In a statement, Winterkorn said he took responsibility for the "irregularities" found in diesel engines but that he was "not aware of any wrongdoing on my part."
The Environmental Protection Agency has said Volkswagen AG could face fines of as much as $18 billion. The investigation is likely to examine not only possible violations of the Clean Air Act but also of broader statutes against wire fraud, false statements to regulators and other crimes, former prosecutors not involved with the investigation said. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.
New York and other state attorneys general are also forming a group to investigate, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said.
Other countries, such as South Korea, have also ordered investigations into emission levels of VW cars and some law firms in North America have filed class-action suits.
The world's largest automaker said it would set aside 6.5 billion euros ($7.3 billion) in its third-quarter accounts to help cover the costs of the biggest scandal in its 78-year-history.
(With information from AP and Reuters)
