Engineers at Volkswagen have admitted to falsifying carbon dioxide emission data in order to achieve the unrealistic goals of corporate leadership.
German newspaper Blid am Sonntag obtained an internal report that found that multiple engineers at VW said they intentionally manipulated data and tampered with vehicles during testing. According to Business Insider, tire pressure was adjusted and motor oil was mixed into the diesel to reduce fuel use and boost overall advertised fuel economy.
The deception began in 2013, following an announcement by then CEO Martin Winterkorn that the company would reduce its carbon footprint by 30 percent by 2015. Engineers knew these were overly ambitious goals, however no one spoke up to contradict the new corporate mission, reports Business Insider.
A Volkswagen spokesman declined to elaborate on the report, simply saying, “Employees have indicated in an internal investigation that there were irregularities in ascertaining fuel consumption data. How this happened is subject to ongoing proceedings.”
The Blid am Sonntag report said that a lone engineer at VW’s headquarters in Wolfsburg blew the whistle in early October about a massive deception. Volkswagen representatives have thus far not confirmed the whistleblower’s allegations. The engineer won’t face repercussions, reports Business Insider, though VW is currently examining others who are involved.
“We can’t punish someone who has taken such a brave step,” said a top VW official to Blid am Sonntag.
This news comes as Volkswagen turns to the U.S. for a sales strategy they hope will help win back disillusioned customers. The Wall Street Journal reports that VW will issue a set of debit cards to owners of their diesel vehicles, one they can use for dealership costs such as repairs and another that will be a cash gift affected customers can spend as they like.
Last week it came to light that Volkswagen had also mislead regulators on CO2 emissions from their gas powered vehicles, adding another 800,000 cars to the list of tampered VW models. The company faces upwards of $38 billion in total costs from the emission scandal that broke in September.
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