How did Volkswagen dupe millions of car owners, flout stringent US norms?

Volkswagen has found itself in a huge mess since the US Environmental Protection Agency revealed after a series of investigations, that the carmaker had rigged emission tests data of its diesel-powered cars to show lesser figures. It is now known that millions of diesel-powered VW cars around the world are equipped with devices that can cheat pollution tests. The big question remains, how did Volkswagen manage to dupe millions of diesel car buyers, US taxpayers, and the US authorities for such a long time. 

Here's what has happened since the US EPA first revealed the news:

-- Volkswagen has now admitted that at least 11 million cars worldwide are equipped with devices that can cheat pollution tests. 

-- According to a Los Angeles Times article, taxpayers have paid $51 million in green subsidies for VW's 'clean diesel' cars based on these false emission test results. 

- The carmaker has decided to halt sales of its four-cylinder VW, Audi diesel cars in the US. This accounts for nearly 23% of VW brand cars sold in the US. Between January and August, the VW Group has sold nearly 2,40,000 cars in the US.

-- VW may face fines up to $18 billion. This is notwithstanding the damage it will cause to the group company.

-- The Wolfburg-based firm has said that it will set aside nearly 6.5 billion euros in provisions this quarter to cover costs related to the scandal.

-- Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn may be asked to leave.

-- Shares of Volkswagen have erased nearly 33% from European bourses in a matter of days, since the news first broke. Even shares of Indian auto component maker Motherson Sumi, which provides spare parts to Volkswagen group of cars, have tumbled nearly 8% on the BSE and NSE. the company has clarified that it will not be affected by the VW scandal. 

-- Lawyers across the US have filed atleast 25 class action suits on behalf of car owners across the 50 states.

While talking to the media at a promotional event of the 2016 VW Passat, VW US head Michael Horn said that the company had “totally screwed up” and promised to make amends.

What has Volkswagen done?

Volkswagen has cheated millions of car owners worldwide by equipping its diesel-powered cars with a cheating device that can help the models go past emission tests. As a result of the cheating device, VW cars pass emission tests with flying colours, and its 'clean diesel' cars saw a lot of takers in the last few years.

By doing this, Volkswagen has not only put at stake its own reputation, but also the reputation of several carmakers under its badge, and the 'Make in Germany' tag.

How did Volkswagen cheat?

EPA investigations have found that VW's 2009-2015 four-cylinder diesel engine cars have been fitted with 'defeat devices' that would help them comply to the stringent norms in the US. These "defeat devices" would temporarily lower emissions when it detected that it was being inspected. Emissions would then return to a much higher level, allowing the car to perform better when driven.

The algorithm used information about how the car was being steered, how long the engine ran and atmospheric pressure to "precisely track" the conditions that corresponded to a federal emissions test, according to the EPA. (Sources: CarandDriver.com; Carsdirect.com; Dummies.com, Auto Repair For Dummies, 2nd Edition)

How did the authorities find out?

2013: The International Council for Clean Transportation (ICCT) commissioned researchers at West Virginia University to test diesel car emissions. The group expected to find that diesel cars sold in the US emitted fewer pollutants than those cars sold elsewhere because they had to meet tougher standards.

Instead, after testing a 2012 Volkswagen Jetta and a 2013 VW Passat, researchers were "surprised" when the results showed the opposite: the two VW models displayed much higher levels of nitrogen oxide emissions than permitted by law, while a third test vehicle, a BMW X5, generally fell within permissible limits.

2014:

May: ICCT alerted the EPA and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) about their findings, which prompted the latter to start an investigation and discussions with VW in 2014.

VW agreed to conduct its own tests to replicate the ICCT study, proposed a software fix to CARB.

December: VW issued a voluntary recall of all its US diesel cars from model years 2009-2014.

2015:

May: The voluntary recall in December did little to douse the fire. CARB and EPA wanted to do “confirmatory tests”, which took place in May 2015.

July: CARB notified VW that the test vehicles still showed emissions that exceeded state and federal limits. California shared those results with federal regulators. VW, however, said that the excess emissions were due to “various technical issues” and “unexpected” real world conditions. 

Early September: EPA and CARB threaten to withhold certification for VW's 2016 diesel models, which prompted VW to revise its explanation.

EPA has said that it “intends to compel VW to issue a recall" once the automaker has developed a satisfactory fix. But as of now, the company and EPA officials said there was no recall. EPA will now test software used in diesel vehicles from other manufacturers for similar possible violations. 

Winterkorn said on Sunday he was "deeply sorry" for the breach of U.S. rules and ordered an investigation. People including a VW supervisory board member said Winterkorn may have to resign.

"This disaster is beyond all expectations," said Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, head of the Center of Automotive Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen.

Some experts say VW now needs to apply a strategy like Mercedes did after the 1997 'elk test' when a Swedish motor magazine found Mercedes' new A Class tended to flip over when undergoing an evasive manoeuvre test.

(With agencies)