Environmentalists are not impressed by a Volkswagen proposal to retrofit nearly 7 million vehicles yearly with filter devices that will reduce particulate pollution by 90 percent by 2022.
Ulrich Eichhorn, the head of VW’s research and development, told reporters Wednesday the company’s soot filter will “cause a significant reduction” in the vehicles’ fuel emissions.
“Following increases in efficiency and lower [carbon dioxide] output, we are now bringing about a sustained reduction in the emission levels of our modern petrol engines by fitting particulate filters as standard,” Eichhorn said in a company statement.
The device will be in use starting in June 2017 with the 1.4-liter TSI engine in the VW Tiguan and in the 2.0-liter TFSI engine in the Audi A5. The scheme will be in full force by 2022.
Green groups are skeptical of the company’s promise, which is due in part to the VW scandal.
“They blatantly broke the public’s trust, so I’m a little skeptical of any their plans for reducing emissions and pollution,” Andrew Linhardt, an associate Washington representative for the Sierra Club, told reporters.
