The volkswagen smoke tragedy

Frankfurt -- German auto giant Volkswagen plummeted nearly 20 per cent on the stock market yesterday as investigations spread into revelations that hundreds of thousands of its diesel cars have software that secretly thwarts US emissions tests. Volkswagen, the world’s largest automaker by sales in the first half of this year, said it had halted all diesel vehicle sales in the United States during a probe into the scandal, which could lead to fines of more than $18 billion (16bn euros). It is not known how far the manipulation extended.  In Germany, which is hosting the Frankfurt motor show vaunting the industry’s strengths and environmental credentials, the government launched an investigation into whether Volkswagen or other car markers are doing anything similar in Germany or Europe.  South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said the authorities there, too, will conduct emissions tests on three Volkswagen car models in mid-October to check for similar deception. Beyond the fines and lawsuits, and the billions of euros that evaporated in Volkswagen’s stock market value as it plunged 18pc to 132.30 euros in midafternoon trade in Frankfurt, the company faces a potentially crippling blow to its reputation. According to the US authorities, VW equipped 482,000 cars in the US with  sophisticated software that discretely turns off emissions controls when driving normally and secretly turns them on only when it detects that the car is undergoing an emissions test.   This allows the car to pass the emissions test, earning a certificate of good environmental performance.  Once the test is over, the mechanism de-activates itself, releasing pollutant gases into the air, such as nitrogen oxides that are linked to severe respiratory ailments including asthma.  “Using a defeat device in cars to evade clean air standards is illegal and a threat to public health,” said Cynthia Giles, enforcement officer at the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA), describing the allegations as “very serious matters.”  EPA found the “defeat device” in diesel cars including the Audi A3, VW Jetta, Beetle, Golf and Passat models.  A non-governmental group, the International Council on Clean Transportation, said it uncovered the deception through “dogged” perseverance and then alerted researchers at the University of West Virginia.  After independent tests, the researchers uncovered anomalies between real-life emissions and those reported during formal testing.