VW software updates for diesel cars totally inadequate – environmental group

The software updates offered by VW for diesel cars affected by emissions manipulation are completely inadequate to reduce the vehicles’ pollution levels to below legal limits, according to Environmental Action Germany (DUH). “We don’t need ‘Mickey-Mouse software updates,’ but effective hardware solutions that also work in winter,” DUH head Jürgen Resch told Reuters. One car actually showed higher emissions at cold temperatures after the update, according to DUH.
The German government is still in disagreement over whether to call for hardware retrofits. The environment ministry has said they are necessary to bring down pollution levels, but the transport ministry says the retrofits are too expensive and the focus should be on bringing future technologies onto the roads.

Find the DUH press release in German here.

Read the Reuters article in German here.

Find background in the CLEW article One year afer German "diesel summit," air quality challenge remains and in the factsheet “Dieselgate” – a timeline of Germany’s car emissions fraud scandal.