German automaker Volkswagen was found to tamper with its emission control systems at the time of testing in the US. The announcement was made on the 18th of September by the US Environmental Protection Agency that the Volkswagen Group of America, Audi AG and Volkswagen AG had flouted the environmental regulations of the country. Volkswagen failing the test led to the recall of roughly 11 million cars. The vehicles that were recalled for this shall have only one piece being changed which would make them register the correct levels of emissions. No changes shall be introduced in the functionality of the engine.
The company was further fined $ 13.1 million by the IBama (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) for modifying these vehicles falsely to slip by environmental regulations. The announcement was made on Thursday.
The firm was notified on Thursday and shall present a plan on measures to fix the vehicles in order to comply with the Brazilian standards.
The violations have been proven against the diesel powered Volkswagen four cylinder vehicles engineered between 2009 and 2015. A software patch was used to falsify the emissions data that were produced by the exhaust. Volkswagen shall now have to share detailed information regarding the sales and production of vehicles in the country, which are affected by the violation. The action is similar to the one taken by the US government.
Till now, Volkswagen has recognized that the Amarok vehicles produced by it in 2011 and 2012 carries the illicit software that was detected in the US.
The fine of $13.1 million is the highest sum that is permitted to be imposed for violations under the Environmental Crimes Law.