Why Volkswagen is struggling with new emissions tests

Carmaker facing production stoppages as stricter standards cause problems

Volkswagen
The factory shutdown will take place on set days in August and September
(Image credit: 2018 Getty Images)

Volkswagen has announced plans to temporarily cease production at its primary factory later this year following the introduction of tough new emissions standards by the EU.

Speaking at a VW meeting in Wolfsburg yesterday, company chief Herbert Diess said that production will halt at the plant in the German city on set days in August and September, Reuters reports.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

In order to meet the tougher emissions requirements, changes will be made to more than 200 models during the downtime at the factory, which employs around 64,000 people, the news site says.

Following the announcement, VW’s development head, Frank Welsch, told Autocar that the German car giant needs “more time” and “more people” to prepare for the changes.

“By 1 September, everything needs to be fixed, done and certified. That’s all of our portfolio, and our portfolio is big,” he said. “We’re not prepared for new certification for all of our cars in one year.”

The issues are not exclusive to VW. Motor1 reports that the group’s sports car brand Porsche has also announced plans to temporarily suspend production later this year in order to adapt for the WLTP tests.

The VW suspensions come in the wake of the emissions cheating scandal that has engulfed the company since 2015.

The company’s former chief, Martin Winterkorn, was charged last month with “conspiring to mislead regulators” by US prosecutors in Detroit, the BBC reports.

Explore More