Frankfurt: Germany's Volkswagen said Tuesday an internal probe had found that 800,000 more vehicles showed "inconsistencies" on carbon emissions, including the first petrol engines, as the auto giant sank deeper into a massive pollution cheating scandal.
The company said initial estimates suggested the latest revelation could cost it two billion euros ($2.2 billion), but "a reliable assessment of the scale of these irregularities is not yet possible".
Separately, Porsche SE, the investment company which owns 32.4 percent of VW's capital, said Tuesday's revelations could have a "negative impact" on its own results, although it maintained its projections for 2015.
Among the engines affected are 1.4, 1.6 and 2.0 litre motors of VW, Skoda, Audi and Seat vehicles, said a VW spokesman, adding that these cars had been found to be releasing more of greenhouse gas CO2 than previous tests had shown.
At least one petrol (US: gasoline) engine is concerned, the company said -- up to now only its diesel engines had been concerned.
Volkswagen admitted in September that it had fitted 11 million of its diesel vehicles with devices designed to cheat official pollution tests, revelations that have sparked global outrage and investigations across the globe.
The so-called defeat devices turn on pollution controls when cars are undergoing tests and off when they are back on the road, allowing them to spew out harmful levels of nitrogen oxide.
The latest issue opens up another front in the scandal engulfing the company as it relates to a different type of engine and emissions.
It also comes a day after US authorities accused the carmarker of fitting the nitrogen oxide defeat devices also on its larger 3.0 litre diesel vehicles -- charges VW adamantly denied.
- 'Stop at nothing' -
"I have pledged from the start that we will stop at nothing in clarifying the circumstances," said chief executive Matthias Mueller in a statement.
"We will stop at nothing. It is a painful process but we have no choice," he said.
"The Volkswagen executive board regrets the facts established," he said of the internal probe that uncovered CO2 irregularities, adding that the company will ensure that the correct emissions level are indicated following consultations with the authorities.
In the United States, authorities late Monday accused VW of fitting illegal "defeat devices" not only on its smaller engines, but also into various six-cylinder 3.0 litre diesel VW Touareg, Porsche Cayenne and Audis.
The inclusion of Porsche vehicles among those alleged to contain defeat devices could trip up Mueller, who was drafted in from the luxury sports car unit to replace Martin Winterkorn, who resigned at the height of the scandal.
"We have clear evidence of these additional violations," said Cynthia Giles, an official with the US EPA's Enforcement and Compliance Assurance office.
"VW has once again failed its obligation to comply with the law that protects clean air for all Americans," she said.
Mueller did not address the latest US allegations in his statement Tuesday, as shares in Volkswagen fell 1.5 percent on the Frankfurt stock exchange.
VW, the world's number two carmaker by sales, had swiftly denied the new US charges.
"Volkswagen AG wishes to emphasise that no software has been installed in the 3-litre V6 diesel power units to alter emissions characteristics in a forbidden manner," it said in a statement.
"Volkswagen will cooperate fully with the EPA (to) clarify this matter in its entirety."
AFP
