Top Volkswagen executives reportedly knew a year ago that some of the brand's European models suffered from lower fuel economy and produced more emissions than was previously publicized.
Reuters cites a story in the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag that reports the emissions "irregularities" demonstrated by 800,000 mostly diesel models were not, as VW has asserted, discovered as a result of the ongoing dieselgate scandal.
Instead, the issues were instead known by high-ranking executives for a year. It was this knowledge that prompted now-former VW Group Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn to pull from the market the Polo TDI BlueMotion model, a car that was reportedly achieved 18% lower fuel economy than advertised. At the time, the company cited low sales figures for the discontinuation of the model said Bild am Sonntag, without revealing its sources.
When Volkswagen made public the emissions irregularities in early November, it estimated it would cost the company $2.19 billion. However, it did not divulge how it came to that final price tag figure. Likely it comes from a mix of fines, recall costs and sales losses.
Volkswagen has not yet begun to address the 800,000 emissions irregular European models, as it has just recently began to address the 8.5 million cars in Europe affected by dieselgate.
Last week, VW announced its plans for fixing small diesels in Europe. American owners, however, are still awaiting word on repair plans for their cars since the carmaker turned over its strategy to the EPA.