While companies in the EU are working to upgrade existing fleets, news of another emissions-cheating scandal has surfaced.
A global logistics company focusing on the automotive, aerospace, retail, healthcare, and technology sectors announced it has invested in a new vehicle fleet that will increase fuel economy and reduce running costs — while also reducing CO2 emissions — by using the latest Euro 6 technology. The company’s announcement coincides with reports from Germany’s KBA automotive watchdog that Audi has been using emissions-cheating software in its latest Euro-6 diesel models.
Yusen Logistics has upgraded nearly 100 vehicles with 45 new Renault tractor units from the efficient T range and 50 new MAN tractor units from the TGX 460 series. The units, complete with the latest Euro 6 technology, will bring the fleet in line with EU directives to reduce pollutants from vehicle exhausts by converting the majority of nitrogen oxide into harmless nitrogen and water before reaching the exhaust, according to American Shipper.
Euro 6 refers to the sixth iteration of the EU’s directive to reduce harmful pollutants from vehicle exhausts. These include nitrogen oxide (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (THC and NMHC) and particulate matter (PM), explained AutoExpress last summer. Companies like Yusen and BSB Transport have been engaged in upgrading fleets in order to meet the standards.
Cheating Scandals
The Audi “cheating” technology, which works in the lab during emissions testing, turns off emissions-reducing measures when on the road in order to protect the engine, according to MarketWatch. The automotive company is recalling 127,000 vehicles, including A4 through A8 Audi models, and Q5 and Q7 sport utility, The Times reports. The company says it has included the models with its July recall of diesel engines with V6 and V8 TDI engines. The engine control software for the vehicles in question will be “completely revised, tested and submitted to the KBA for approval,” Audi said in a statement.
Volkswagen faced costly recalls and lawsuits — to the eventual tune of more than $25 billion — after it was found in 2015 to have illegally manipulated engine software. While vehicles met nitrogen oxide emissions standards in laboratory tests, they emitted as much as 40 times the permitted levels in real-world conditions.
Audi has been accused in media reports of having devised the so-called defeat devices years earlier, according to Reuters.
