(Adds statements from Porsche, Senators Blumenthal and Markey,
plus VW source)
By Patrick Rucker and Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (DE:VOWG) used devices to
cheat air pollution tests in diesel luxury vehicles, U.S.
environmental regulators said on Monday, in a new blow to the
automaker already reeling from similar allegations regarding
millions of smaller diesel engines.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it is now
looking at 3.0-liter V6 diesel engines used mostly in larger,
more expensive models like the Porsche Cayenne sport utility
vehicle in addition to engines on Jettas, Passats and other
mass-market models whose test-deceiving software were initially
targeted by the agency in mid-September.
Volkswagen in a response Monday took issue with the EPA's
findings, saying that "no software has been installed" in its
3.0-liter V6 diesel engines "to alter emissions characteristics
in a forbidden manner."
VW made similar denials for more than a year to U.S.
regulators before admitting to cheating on the four-cylinder
diesels.
A VW group source familiar with the EPA investigation on
Monday said, "We want to know more from the regulators about how
they came to this conclusion. We're not sure how they came up
with their findings, and would like a better opportunity to
review the data with the regulators."
The V6 diesel was designed by VW's Audi unit and widely used
in premium models sold by the VW, Audi and Porsche brands in
model years 2014 through 2016.
The move pulls Porsche and Audi deeper into the scandal that
has already engulfed the corporate parent Volkswagen AG
VOWG_p.DE and its mass-market VW brand, shaving nearly 20
billion euros ($22 billion) off its market capitalization.
On the road, emissions of the smog-causing pollutant
nitrogen oxide on the affected high-end vehicles could be nine
times higher than allowed, the EPA said.
"The latest revelations raise the question, where does VW's
road of deceit end?," House Energy and Commerce Committee
Chairman Fred Upton said in a statement, adding that the
disclosure "prompts questions regarding the prevalence of the
emissions cheating and how it went undetected for so long."
Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal and Edward Markey
said the automaker "should be held accountable for illegally
using defeat devices to cheat consumers and emissions controls.
The administration should reverse any CAFE or other benefits VW
might have enjoyed as a result of illegal behavior."
DEFEAT DEVICES
About 10,000 of the luxury cars from Volkswagen units are
fitted with the illegal software device, U.S. and California
regulators said. Many more may be on the road. VW in 2013 said
it had built and sold more than 1.6 million 3.0 V6 TDI engines
worldwide, just before the current version of the engine was
introduced in 2014.
It is not clear how many models fitted with the current
version of the V-6 may have the illegal software. The EPA said
it cited only those vehicles and model years that it had
recently tested. It did not say if it has tested earlier
versions of the engine.
In September, Volkswagen admitted it installed software that
can cheat emissions tests, called defeat devices, in smaller,
four-cylinder engines on about 482,000 cars in the United States
and more than 11 million worldwide.
Among the diesel models officials named on Monday as being
in violation of U.S. laws are five Audi models, including the A6
sedan and the Q5 SUV. Also cited were the VW Touareg and Porsche
Cayenne.
In a separate statement, Porsche said it was "surprised to
learn this information."
"Until this notice, all of our information was that the
Porsche Cayenne Diesel is fully compliant," it added.
The emissions cheats allowed the vehicles to pass tests
meant to monitor vehicles' emissions of nitrogen oxide.
The mechanism detects when an engine is being tested for
tailpipe emissions and then alters the emission controls to
permit more pollutants in actual driving.
Carmakers are permitted to use software to optimize engine
performance in some cases, but sidestepping emissions controls
with a defeat device is prohibited by law.
Volkswagen has yet to come up with solutions to address
illegal software on three generations of four-cylinder diesels
first cited by the EPA on September 18.
($1 = 0.9083 euros)