VW says false CO2 emissions data affects far fewer cars

FRANKFURT -- Volkswagen Group said a probe into false CO2 emissions data and fuel usage affects far fewer vehicles than originally thought.The company and German authorities found slight deviations in nine model variants with an annual production of about 36,000 cars, VW said in a statement today. It had initially estimated that as many as 800,000 vehicles would be affected."Following extensive internal investigations and measurement checks, it is now clear that almost all of these model variants do correspond to the CO2 figures originally determined," the statement said.Only a small number of the model variants of new cars will have the catalog CO2 figure slightly adjusted, VW said.The company said it no longer faces potential damages of as much as 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) due to CO2 emissions irregularities.The automaker said it will have the fuel economy and CO2 data remeasured on nine variants of VW brand vehicles by a neutral technical service. These include versions of the Golf, Polo, Scirocco, Passat and Jetta. The data will be available by Christmas, VW said.The deviations found in the figures for the nine model variants amount to a few grams of CO2 on average, corresponding to increased fuel consumption of approximately 0.1 to 0.2 liters per 100 km, VW said.Economic impactWhether there is a "minor economic impact" remains to be seen depending on the remeasurement, the company said."Customers' real-world consumption figures do not change and neither are any technical vehicle modifications necessary," the statement said.The issue of false CO2 levels mainly affects Europe, where a model's carbon emissions are always communicated to consumers. Some European countries including Germany and the UK base vehicle taxes on CO2 emissions. VW has offered to pay any taxes owed by customers as a result of understated CO2 emissions.VW's statement eases one front in the pollution scandal that has plagued the carmaker for nearly three months.Other fines, penaltiesIn a separate issue, VW Group faces fines and compensation claims after the company admitted that up to 11 million VW, Audi, Skoda and Seat diesel cars sold worldwide may have illegal software to fool tests for NOx emissions. The carmaker is nearing regulatory approval for a low-cost fix for some 8.5 million diesel cars affected in Europe.U.S. regulators have also targeted 85,000 VW, Audi and Porsche models with 3.0-liter V-6 diesel engines fitted with emissions-control equipment that was not properly disclosed.VW's supervisory board is meeting today to discuss the state of investigations into the emissions crisis.Consumers have been deterred from making purchases because of the CO2 cheating, works council chief Bernd Osterloh has said, adding to already falling demand for its cars in China and Latin America.NordLB analyst Frank Schope predicted the group's global sales would fall as much as 4 percent worldwide next year in a market that looks set to grow by the same margin.Bloomberg and Reuters contributed to this report. CA102866129.PDFVW C02 memoCA102866129.PDF

VW says false CO2 emissions data affects far fewer cars

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