Nevertheless, Volkswagen propagated the technological miracle of fast, cheap and green diesel vehicles – but the impression projected on foreigners did not correspond to reality. [44] [49] In reality, the system failed to combine good fuel economy with compliant NOx emissions and, around 2006[50], Volkswagen decided to program the engine control unit (ECU) to switch from good fuel economy and high NOx emissions to a low-emission compliant mode when it detected an emissions test, especially for the EA 189 engine. [44] As a result, the engine emitted NOx values above the limit values in daily operation, but the test complied with U.S. NOx standards, which constituted a defeat device. [46] [51] In 2015, the news magazine Der Spiegel reported that at least 30 people at the Volkswagen management level had known about the fraud for years, which Volkswagen denied in 2015. [52] In general, three-way catalytic converter technology, which has been very effective in reducing nitrogen oxides (NOx) in gasoline engine exhaust since the early 1980s, does not work well for diesel vehicles, which emit 20 times more NOx if not treated in some way. [44] Diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), known as BlueTec technology Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk was asked to weigh in on whether the scandal would weaken consumer opinion on green technologies; He replied that he expected the opposite: „What Volkswagen really shows is that we have reached the limit of what is possible with diesel and petrol. It`s time to move to a new generation of technology. [386] The emissions were well above the legal limits set by European and American standards. One of the testers said, „. Volkswagen then decided to recall around 8.5 million cars in Europe[142], or about a third of all passenger car deliveries since 2009. [146] KBA requires Volkswagen to submit a recall plan for 2.0-litre passenger cars to KBA by the end of October and for 1.2- and 1.6-litre passenger cars by the end of November. [145] If KBA accepts a plan, Volkswagen can start manipulating cars.
German authorities require Volkswagen to remove the software and for Volkswagen to ensure compliance with emissions regulations. [141] Media reports believe that the KBA procedure sets a precedent for how authorities in other countries handle the case. [146] [147] Volkswagen announced that 11 million cars were involved in the fake emissions reports and that more than seven billion dollars would be allocated to the cost of fixing the software at the center of pollution reports. [29] Volkswagen`s new CEO, Mathias Müller, explained that the software had only been activated in a subset of these 11 million cars, which remains to be determined. [28] The German tabloid Bild claimed that management was aware as early as 2007 of the use of the software to manipulate exhaust emission parameters. Bosch provided the software for testing purposes and warned Volkswagen that it was illegal to use the software to circumvent compliance with emissions regulations during normal driving operations. [114] Der Spiegel followed Bild with an article dated September 30, 2015, in which it noted that certain groups of people knew this in 2005 or 2006. [115] The Süddeutsche Zeitung also reported that Heinz-Jakob Neusser, one of Volkswagen`s top executives, had at least ignored an engineer`s warnings about „potentially illegal“ practices in 2011. [116] In September 2015, Volkswagen`s Belgian importer, D`Ieteren, announced that it would offer free engine upgrades to 800 customers who had ordered a vehicle equipped with a diesel engine that could be equipped with illegal software. [160] [161] Regulators in several countries began investigating Volkswagen,[33] and the share price fell by a third in the days immediately following the news.