Report says Volkswagen cheated during European emissions tests as well

German media is reporting Volkswagen had the illegal software turned on during emissions tests in Europe as well.

Last week we heard Volkswagen saying they don't know whether the so-called "defeat device" was active during emissions testing of Euro-spec cars, but now a report issued by German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung mentions VW has finally admitted it was indeed turned on for 8 million TDI EA189-powered cars sold in the European Union.

All these cars will be the subject of a major recall set to begin in January next year and it seems the 2.0 TDI will only need a software update whereas the 1.6 TDI will also need hardware modifications that won't be available until September 2016. It's not known at this point what sort of changes the 1.2 TDI will need to become legal, but Volkswagen has already informed worried owners the recall procedures will come to an end before 2017.

In total, there are around 11 million units in the world from Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, SEAT and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles fitted with the three problematic turbodiesel engines that have a software developed to effectively enable the vehicles cheat during official emissions tests. In reality, the car's emissions are 10 to 40 times higher compared to the results obtained during testing.
According to an estimation made by Credit Suisse, the dieselgate saga will cost VAG anywhere between ?23 and ?78 billion