A lawsuit filed Tuesday by the New York attorney general alleges that German car maker Volkswagen (VW) decided to cheat on emissions tests as far back as 1999.
In his filing, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said dozens of employees colluded to develop means to override emissions tests, based on e-mails and other corporate documents.
According to the lawsuit, the software, called “acoustic function,” was first rolled out in Europe for the company’s luxury brand Audi to exceed emissions tests. It was later incarnated as “defeat devices,” which were installed in diesel vehicles sold in the US beginning in 2008.
The devices allowed diesel vehicles to pollute up to as much as 40 times the permitted levels undetected. The software is on some 11 million vehicles worldwide.
A VW spokesperson said that the allegations are nothing new and that it is “regrettable” that New York and some states are filing suits on top of their support of a federal state collaborative process in sorting out the scandal.
VW agreed to pay almost $15 billion to settle with regulators and buyers in the US following exposure by the Environmental Protection Agency last September.
New York is seeking $450 million in civil penalties for violations that are “the result of a willful and systematic scheme of cheating.”
Massachusetts and Maryland took similar action earlier this week.
