Volkswagen faces $18 billion fine in US over emissions

BERLIN

The German government called on carmaker Volkswagen on Monday to cooperate fully with U.S. authorities over claims it manipulated emissions tests.

“The manufacturer is asked to closely cooperate with the U.S. authorities to completely clarify the situation,” Environment Ministry spokesman Michael Schroeren said at a news conference in Berlin.

“And we are also expecting reliable information from the carmaker so that the Federal Office for Motor Traffic can examine whether similar manipulation has also been the case in Germany or in Europe.”

Shares in the German auto giant fell more than 20 percent Monday as claims surfaced that its diesel cars were fitted with software to dupe U.S. emissions tests.

The allegations could lead to fines of up to $18 billion for the company under the U.S.’s Clean Air Act.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board claimed to have found software in 482,000 cars that detects when a vehicle is undergoing an emissions test and activates emissions controls. The controls are switched off when driving normally, releasing pollutants.

“Using a defeat device in cars to evade clean air standards is illegal and a threat to public health,” Cynthia Giles, the EPA’s assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance, said in a statement on the agency’s website.

Volkswagen announced an “external investigation” into the claims.

“I, personally, am deeply sorry that we have broken the trust of our customers and the public,” Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn said in a statement.

“We will cooperate fully with the responsible agencies, with transparency and urgency, to clearly, openly and completely establish all of the facts of this case. We do not and will not tolerate violations of any kind of our internal rules or of the law.”

The EPA ordered Volkswagen to recall all the cars concerned and alter the emissions systems.