Alexander Dobrindt, Germany’s Transport Minister, said that Porsche would bear all costs associated with recalling the affected Cayenne SUVs.
German regulators have suspended the Cayenne’s certification, which means that Porsche will have to manufacture new software and have it authorized before the company can sell any more of the model.
Porsche issued a statement which said that it had “detected irregularities in the engine control software” and notified the German transport minister. It suggested the problem could be fixed with a software update.
“Porsche continues to carry out internal audits on its vehicles,” the automaker said. “If there is something that is not OK, then we tackle it and get it right.”
Accusations of emissions cheat software in Porsche Cayenne SUVs first surfaced last month in the German magazine Der Spiegel. The publication says it was informed by a source that affected vehicles have a “warm up mode” which was actually designed just to comply with emissions requirements. It said tests showed that once the vehicle began to turn or encounter a slope it switched to a different mode and emissions were higher.
“There is no explanation why this software was in this vehicle,” Dobrindt said. “These vehicles are equipped with modern emissions-controlling technology so we think these vehicles are technically able to stick to emissions limits and we therefore believe Porsche will quickly be in a position to bring the software into conformity (with the law).”
The news comes on the heels of an announcement by Porsche’s sister firm Volkswagen that it will refit nearly one million more diesel vehicles in Germany.
VW was the subject of a worldwide scandal in 2015 after it was discovered that the automaker had fitted some of its diesel vehicles with a “defeat device” that allowed them to pass emissions tests while running far les efficiently in real-world situations.
Source: BBC News