German automakers to update 2.5 million diesel vehicles in Germany
The German automobile manufacturers have agreed with their Government to perform a series of measures to control pollution from diesel engines and save the diesel technology from being banned in the country. The German Government has already threatened to ban people from driving diesel cars within city limits and also to ban the diesel technology itself if the manufacturers do not update their Euro5 and partial Euro6 models voluntarily.
The agreement was reached at the recently held ‘national Diesel Forum” with BMW even announcing incentives of up to 2000 Euros for Euro4 diesel car owners to trade in their old vehicles for a new, less polluting, more efficient models with up to 130/kg of CO2 emissions in the NEDC.
“The automotive industry is aware that it has lost a lot of confidence,” said the German auto industry lobby VDA in a statement. “We must and will work to regain this confidence. This is a core concern of the industry – in our own interest, in the interest of our customers and employees as well as in the interest of our country.”
The recall will be carried out by major auto manufacturers in Germany by the likes of BMW, Daimler, Opel and the Volkswagen Group. The recall is calculated to affect around an estimated 2.5 million vehicles confirming to Euro 5 and Euro 6 diesel powered vehicles. The companies will retrofit these models with a software update that will reduce the nitrogen oxide emissions by 25 to 30 percent. In fact, Volkswagen has fixed already an estimated 2.5 million vehicles with either a software update or a hardware cum software update to make the vehicles confirm to norms in relation to its diesel-gate scandal.
VDA says that the update has been made possible by the technical advances in exhaust gas after-treatment and engine control, which have been developed in recent years. The update will be free for the owners and will not affect the engine performance, fuel consumption or service intervals.
[Source: Carscoops]
