Once again, BMW has proved that it is not guilty of the type of misdeeds committed by Volkswagen relating to cheating on emissions testing. An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spokesperson said recently, "Our screening tests found no evidence of a defeat device in the 2016 BMW X5."
BMW also announced that it was resuming production of the BMW X5 35d. The BMW factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina, had delayed production of the diesel X5 for the U.S. market pending the outcome of testing by the EPA and also the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Customers ordering that particular BMW model could now see deliveries starting as early as January.
In September, when Volkswagen was discovered to have installed software that would allow its vehicles to pass emissions tests, but then turn off the vehicles’ emissions control system during regular driving, government officials in the U.S. and Canada announced that all new diesel-powered passenger cars, trucks, and SUVs would be tested for “defeat devices” before the new diesel vehicles would be approved. The only diesels not made by Volkswagen that were waiting for this EPA certification were the BMW X5 and two General Motors pickups—the GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado. The two GM trucks were approved in November.
Volkswagen admitted it had installed the cheating software in 482,000 vehicles sold in the U.S., and as many as 11,000,000 worldwide. In addition, VW acknowledged that all Audi and Porsche models with three-liter diesel engines from 2009 through 2016 also had emissions “issues.” VW, Audi, and Porsche dealers have been ordered by the company to not sell those new and certified used diesel vehicles already on hand. The EPA did not approve the sale of new 2016 VW diesels. In October, Volkswagen withdrew its request to the EPA for new diesels certification until it could speak further with the regulators.
Volkswagen, as a corporation, may eventually recover financially from its massive misdeeds, but it will be tough. What it may never recover is the trust of the motoring public, not only for the emissions cheating, but for dragging into the mess other reputable marques that were playing by the rules. It’s gratifying to see the government clear the BMW diesel X5, but the BMW shouldn’t have had to receive the extra scrutiny in the first place.—Scott Blazey
[Photo courtesy of BMW AG.]
