Currently reading: VW emissions scandal: UK boss denies 'unethical' culture
UK boss is joined by VW engineer Oliver Schmidt to provide explanations and updates regarding the ongoing emissions scandal

VW UK boss Paul Willis has denied that the company has an unethical culture and has not done enough to provide fixes for the ongoing emissions scandal.

Speaking at the Transport Select Committee for the third time, Willis, joined by VW engineer Oliver Schmidt, explained software that enabled VW models to cheat emissions tests was developed by a “small number of employees” in the drivetrain department. Willis refuted claims that the company had acted in an unethical manner, emphasising that the team he’s responsible for in the UK was completely uninvolved.

“I can categorically say that neither I or my employees [in the UK] had any idea that this was going on,” he said. “We have nothing to do with engine development. I am very clear on that."

Read more - VW emissions scandal latest

When asked about what was being done to investigate who was to blame, Willis answered: “There’s over 100 terabytes of information to go through. We’ve employed Jones Day and other legal advisers – as many as 450 individuals - to trawl through 1500 employees' devices. We know from what we’ve found so far that it’s clear that some of the work processes need to be improved." Willis said more details on the investigation would be available in April.

Schmidt, who was not part of the drivetrain team when the offending software was written, explained it was the lack of quality control that allowed a few engineers to develop the offending software.

“The base code is now checked by quality insurance," said Schmidt. "Before, it was developed in engineering and then put into production. There was no quality assurance that looked into the source code of the inboard computers. Now the quality assurance looks into the source code before the software is encrypted."

Asked why the problem was the same in Europe and America, he went on to confirm that “the team that develops software for the US and European markets is the same”.

Transport Committee members continually labelled VW’s offending software as featuring a defeat device, but both VW representatives maintained that the software did not constitute one. Instead, they explained the software that recognises a car is being tested is not illegal according to European law, but software that changes emissions levels is.

In reference to the technical fixes which will be used to bring affected cars in line with emissions standards, Schmidt said: “The software update is removing the software that recognised the testing, but there is no difference in any other time. In fact, there is a small improvement in real-world driving due to advances in technology [since the original software was written]."

Advertisement

Latest business news

99 bmw ix vs mercedes eqs 2022 lead 0 0
From 2024, 22% of a car maker's sales must be BEVs – or it faces a £15,000 fine for every car that does not conform
Editor's letter: EV sales must increase by 50% in 2024 – how?
93 ev charger suppliers under scrutiny podpoint
PodPoint recently switched focus from fast public devices to home and workplace charging
EV charger companies switch tactics in search for elusive profits
Volvo car charging
From 2024, car makers will need to show that 45% of an EV's value originated in the UK or EU to remain tariff-free
EU proposes three-year delay to UK rules of origin tariffs
geneva motor show floor 2018
The Geneva motor show hasn't been held since 2019, due to the pandemic and its after-effects
Geneva motor show 2024: MG confirmed and BYD likely

Read our review

Car review

The fifth-generation Volkswagen Polo has junior Golf looks, but is that enough?

Back to top

Join the debate

Comments
16
Add a comment…
corky73 26 January 2016

What about the employees

It's true that the VAG group don't build many cars in the UK but they have a dealer network of over 1000 when you include all their brands.

With each dealership employing on average 75 - 100 people that is a lot of families who rely on the company for their livelihood. Not to mention parts distributors, delivery companies etc etc

These people aren't to blame for what happened but could be badly affected if the govt went baying for VW's blood in the UK.

230SL 25 January 2016

There are other things which

There are other things which point to the ethics of VW like the fact curtain airbags are a costly option when they are standard on many rivals, saying that I don't think they are any worse or better on this front than their rivals. In other words they are all the same for example why would any market and manufacture a car that does not at least get a 5 star euroncap rating or get a good on the IIHS small overlap crash test.
289 26 January 2016

@ 230SL

OK 230.....we got the message the first time ;-)
230SL 25 January 2016

There are other things which

There are other things which point to the ethics of VW like the fact curtain airbags are a costly option when they are standard on many rivals, saying that I don't think they are any worse or better on this front than their rivals. In other words they are all the same for example why would any market and manufacture a car that does not at least get a 5 star euroncap rating or get a good on the IIHS small overlap crash test.