– By Caroline Falls –
Australian authorities are investigating whether Volkswagen and Audi vehicles sold in Australia are fitted with similar technology to that found in breach of US emissions standards.
“We are monitoring developments in the US and their implications for VW vehicles sold in Australia,” said a spokesperson for the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development in a written response to questions from Fleet Auto News.
“The department is seeking urgent clarification from Volkswagen Group Australia, as to whether vehicles supplied to the Australian market use similar software to that used in the US.”
The defeat device used in 2009-15 VW Jetta, Beetle, Golf and Audi A3 vehicles sold in the US, refers to software that could detect when the vehicle was being subjected to certain dynamometer tests and that would then switch the vehicle into a mode that reduced emissions of nitrogen oxides, or NOx. This a group of pollutants linked to respiratory problems, including asthma. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency website the NOx emissions levels emitted by certain VW and Audi vehicles are 10-to- 40 times more than allowed.
Last week Volkswagen said some 11 million diesel vehicles sold worldwide used the defeat device. The car company has stopped US sales of affected vehicles, ousted its CEO and seen its share price plunge.
In Australia, a so-called defeat device may be prohibited under Australian Design Rule 79, established under the Motor Vehicles Standards Act, which sets out requirements for emissions standards, DIRD said.
The current minimum standard for light vehicle models (up to 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass) approved before 1 November 2013 is Australian Design Rule (ADR) 79/02 which is based on the Euro 4 emission standards.
Australia started bringing its emission standards into line with European standards more than a decade ago. Light vehicle models approved after 1 November 2013 must comply with ADR 79/03, which is based on the initial Euro 5 emission standards. All light vehicles manufactured on or after 1 November 2016 will be required to comply with ADR 79/04, which is based on the final Euro 5 emission standards.
The Euro 5 emission limits applied in ADR 79/04 set a NOx limit of 180 mg/km for diesel passenger cars, which is 28 per cent lower than the Euro 4 NOx emission limits for diesel passenger cars (250mg/km). In the US, standards are more stringent.
“I expect advice from Volkswagen and Audi shortly and the government would then determine whether and what further action was required,” Minister for Territories, Local Government and Major Projects Paul Fletcher said in a media release on Friday.
“If defeat devices have been used in Volkswagen or Audi vehicles in Australia, the government will ensure that affected vehicles are no longer supplied to the Australian market and that a recall of any affected vehicles already in the Australian fleet will be implemented as soon as possible.
“The Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development is working closely with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to ensure the rights of Australian consumers are protected,” the minister said.
He said he expected full cooperation from Volkswagen Australia and Audi Australia in this case. The minister said both companies had cooperated to date.
VW and Audi account for some 511,381 vehicles, or 3.8 percent, of Australia’s passenger vehicles, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
Both Audi and Volkswagen almost doubled their sales of light vehicles in the last five years. In the same period, diesel powered vehicle sales also increased dramatically, with diesel now accounting for 1,561,423 vehicles, or more than half of the light commercial parc in Australia.
