IHS Automotive data show the regional breakdown of the VW Group brands that have vehicles fitted with the EA189 powertrain, as well as the full nameplate breakdown of vehicles in the US.
IHS Automotive perspective | |
Significance | IHS Automotive has provided a regional breakdown, as well as a nameplate breakdown in the US, of the Volkswagen (VW) Group vehicles that are fitted with the EA189 powertrain, which features what has been termed a "defeat device" by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). |
Implications | Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of the cars and light commercial vehicles affected have been sold in Europe: just under 10 million of the global total of 11.3 million. In the US, by far the most popular model affected is the VW Jetta, with 214,000 units involved. |
Outlook | VW has announced an action plan under which it says it intends to issue a recall for all affected vehicles worldwide, with the full technical solution "to correct emissions characteristics" due to be presented to customers and the relevant authorities by the end of October. |
IHS Automotive has collated data that provide the regional breakdown of Volkswagen (VW) Group vehicles that are fitted with the EA189 family of diesel powertrains that feature the algorithm described by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a "defeat device". The EPA served VW with a Notice of Violation on 18 September that alleged that the defeat device could detect when a vehicle was undergoing emissions testing and configure the engine to pass the EPA's nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions tests before reverting back to another setting for normal road driving. The company subsequently stated that 11 million VW Group vehicles worldwide were fitted with the EA189 family of diesel engines featuring the algorithm. The table below provides a regional breakdown of the brands and sales volumes involved on a region-by-region basis and also a breakdown of the model nameplates involved in the US.
Cumulative sales of EA189 engine by brand and nameplate (from launch up to and including Q3 2015*) | |
UNITED STATES (2.0L EA189 only): By nameplate | |
Audi | 13,000 |
Volkswagen | 473,000 |
Audi A3 (AU350) | 13,000 |
Golf (VW360) | 33,000 |
Golf SportWagen (VW372) | 10,000 |
Jetta Wagen (VW362) | 114,000 |
Jetta Sedan (VW361) | 214,000 |
Beetle Convertible (VW325) | 3,000 |
Beetle (VW324) | 8,000 |
Passat (VW411) | 90,000 |
US TOTAL | 486,000 |
EUROPE (1.2L, 1.6L, and 2.0L EA189): By brand | |
Audi | 2,005,000 |
SEAT | 683,000 |
Skoda | 1,000,000 |
Volkswagen | 4,441,000 |
Light commercial vehicles | 1,799,000 |
EUROPE TOTAL | 9,927,000 |
REST OF WORLD (1.2L, 1.6L, and 2.0L EA189): By brand | |
Audi | 263,000 |
Skoda | 88,000 |
Volkswagen | 215,000 |
Light commercial vehicles | 342,000 |
REST OF WORLD TOTAL | 909,000 |
TOTAL 1.2L, 1.6L, and 2.0L EA189 SALES from launch up to and including Q3 2015 | 11,322,000 |
*Estimated cumulative sales do not include scrapping | |
In the US, IHS Automotive calculates that 486,000 VW Group vehicles with the EA189 powertrain have been sold since launch. The vast majority of these are VW-brand models, but 13,000 units of the Audi A3 are also affected in the US. By far the most prevalent model fitted with the engine in the US is the diesel variant of the Jetta Sedan model, which represents 44% of the total number of vehicles affected in the US. The Jetta Wagen is the next most numerous model with 114,000 units, or 23% of the total number of vehicles affected in the US. As is to be expected given diesel's popularity in the region, the vast majority of the affected vehicles have been sold in Europe, accounting for 87.7% of the combined total of 11.3 million units. The largest number of vehicles affected in terms of brand are VW passenger cars, contributing 45% or 4.441 million units of the European total. Audi is next with 2.005 million units or 20% of the total number of vehicles in Europe. A significant number of light commercial vehicles with the EA189 powertrain are also affected in Europe: 1.799 million units, or 18.1% of the overall European total. In addition, 1 million Skoda models and 683,000 SEAT vehicles with the EA189 engine in question have been sold in Europe. A total of just under 1 million units will be recalled in the rest of the world, with the Audi brand outnumbering the VW brand with 263,000 units to 215,000. On 30 September, VW provided more details of the breakdown within Europe, saying that nearly 1.2 million of the affected vehicles were located in the UK. It added that more than 500,000 of these were VW-brand vehicles, nearly 400,000 were from the Audi brand, 130,000 were Skoda models, 75,000 were SEAT vehicles, and around 80,000 were commercial vehicles. In France, the government has disclosed that nearly 1 million affected vehicles were located within its borders.
Outlook and implications
VW announced on 28 September an initial action plan to manage a huge global recall programme for the vehicles affected (see Germany: 30 September 2015: VW announces diesel recall plan). VW said it would present the full technical solution and appropriate measures to the relevant authorities by the end of October. It has already allocated EUR6.5 billion (USD7.3 billion) in provisions relating to the situation regarding the EA189 powertrain and the company admits that this figure could rise.