Coverage: California regulators put the brakes on Volkswagen’s recall

Volkswagen continues to try to redeem its reputation, but troubles still plague the German automaker. On Tuesday, California regulators rejected the company’s plan to recall the cars at the center of its emissions scandal, saying the plan was incomplete.

Jad Mouawad of The New York Times summed up the day’s news:

Regulators in California on Tuesday formally rejected Volkswagen’s plan to fix its polluting diesel engines, underscoring their frustration with the German automaker’s ability to repair its defective vehicles.

The California Air Resources Board, which is investigating VW’s use of a so-called defeat device to cheat on diesel emissions tests, said that a recall plan presented in November and December was “incomplete, substantially deficient and falls far short of meeting the legal requirements” to be approved. The state agency added that VW was taking too long to devise a fix.

The Environmental Protection Agency, which is working with California regulators on the VW fraud, had already said it was not satisfied with the recall plan and requested more information from the company.

Investigators have grown increasingly annoyed with VW since the carmaker admitted in September to the use of fraudulent devices that lowered emissions during testing. Last week, the Justice Department, which had opened its own investigation, filed a civil complaint against the company, accusing it of exceeding E.P.A. air quality standards and violating the Clean Air Act.

It is in that context that Matthias Müller, VW’s chief executive, had requested to meet on Wednesday with the E.P.A. administrator, Gina McCarthy, to discuss the emissions problem, which affects 600,000 vehicles in the United States and up to 11 million vehicles worldwide.

Jeannine Ginivan, a spokeswoman for VW, acknowledged the shortfalls of the December submission and suggested that the company has had “constructive conversations” with the California air board.

Benjamin Zhang of Business Insider listed the California Air Resources Board’s complaints against VW’s filing:

According to CARB, VW’s plans were rejected because:

1. The proposed plans contain gaps and lack sufficient detail.
2. The descriptions of proposed repairs lack information required for a technical evaluation
3. The proposals do not adequately address overall impacts on vehicle performance, emissions and safety.
4. The regulators have also rejected VW’s request for more time to finalize a fix, however, CARB did clarify that the rejection does not preclude a recall.

In response, Volkswagen released the following statement:

“Today’s announcement addresses the initial recall plans Volkswagen submitted to CARB in December. Since then, Volkswagen has had constructive discussions with CARB, including last week when we discussed a framework to remediate the TDI emissions issue. This week, we have been working with Kenneth Feinberg to develop a swift, fair and independent program, which will provide a comprehensive remedy for our customers. We are committed to working cooperatively with CARB and other regulators, and we plan to continue our discussions tomorrow when we meet with the EPA. As stated today by CARB, “Today’s actions do not preclude a recall, but allow for a broader array of potential remedies.”

David Shepardson of Reuters elaborated on response to VW’s efforts to regain its image:

Muller’s first U.S. tour — in which he repeatedly apologized for the emissions scandal — has not gone as planned and has come under criticism for comments he made in a U.S. radio interview in which he denied VW officials lied in evading emissions rules.

Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen called Muller’s comments disturbing. “We now learn that the company’s newly appointed and most senior leader doesn’t believe Volkswagen lied, which is undisputable, and cannot say when it plans to deliver its solution to a problem that is affecting millions of Americans, which is unacceptable,” Jepsen said. “The time for empty apologies and hollow pledges of cooperation is over.”

VW officials have expressed optimism they will soon win approval of a plan to fix the vehicles. They face a separate Feb. 2 deadline to submit a plan to fix 80,000 larger Porsche, Audi and VW 3.0 liter vehicles.

Separately, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said he met in Washington on Monday with Muller. “We obviously have a keen interest in getting their legal issues solved so they can go back to selling cars,” Haslam, whose state is home to a VW factory, said in a Reuters interview on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show.