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| Head of VW America testifies before US Congress – live updates | Head of VW America testifies before US Congress – live updates |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 3.25pm BST15:25 | |
| Graham Ruddick | |
| If Michael Horn was in any doubt about the tough ride he faces today, he can have little doubt now. The opening remarks from the committee suggest they want to shame the company, but also want answers about how exactly the scandal happened and who was to blame. Horn will have come prepared to be shamed, but providing answers could be more problematic. The company is facing legal claims around the world and Horn could claim his answers are restricted. That approach won Tony Hayward of BP no friends at all. | |
| 3.24pm BST15:24 | |
| Pallone adds that the US consumers should feel safe on the road and that they should get what they paid for. | |
| They are not “crash test dummies and shouldn’t be treated as such,” says Pallone. He tells Horn: don’t hide behind internal investigation excuse. | |
| “We deserve an explanation.” | |
| 3.22pm BST15:22 | |
| We are here because VW lied, says Frank Pallone, representative for New Jersey. He adds that this scandal makes him question how much American public should trust auto industry overall. | |
| 3.20pm BST15:20 | |
| And that makes three. | |
| David McKinley, representative for West Virginia, also admits that his first car was a beetle - a 1957 VW beetle. | |
| 3.18pm BST15:18 | |
| Dominic Rushe | |
| “VW has betrayed a nation – a nation of regulators, loyalists, and innocent customers,” says Upton. “It’s time to clean it up or get off the road.” | |
| Updated at 3.19pm BST | |
| 3.17pm BST15:17 | |
| Dominic Rushe | |
| “Cheaters never prosper,” says Fred Upton, representative for Michigan. “If you were willing to cut corners here what else have they done?” | |
| 3.16pm BST15:16 | |
| It appears that Murphy is not the only congressman whose first car was a VW beetle. | |
| Colorado congresswoman Diana DeGette also says her first car was a beetle. | |
| “I still miss the car,” she says. | |
| 3.13pm BST15:13 | |
| Dominic Rushe | |
| Representative Tim Murphy is setting out the aim’s of the hearing. He wants to know what happened, who was responsible and why they did it. Also why the environmental protection agency (EPA) failed to spot it. Murphy added that the scandal needed a sense of proportion - the recall of 480,000 represent only 0.2% of the vehicles on US roads and he said that so far there was no evidence that VW’s emmisions dodge extends to other manufacturers. | |
| Updated at 3.17pm BST | |
| 3.12pm BST15:12 | |
| Murphy points out that Horn is appearing voluntarily and adds that he hopes that VW will continue to cooperate with US congress. | |
| In his opening remarks, Murphy already laid out multiple questions: | |
| As I said before, there are a number of core questions we will begin to pursue today, both for Volkswagen and for EPA. Most critically: what happened; who was involved; and why were these deceptive actions taken? | |
| Horn will be asked explain “the current understanding of VW executives about what exactly was done to these engines, and was it done to deliberately deceive the government regulators? And what is VW doing to fix the problem and make whole those who have been affected by its actions?” | |
| Murphy also wants to know: | |
| If the technology was improving, what did the company understand about the software cheat? And what does this mean for fixing these vehicles? Will some be easier than others? | |
| 3.04pm BST15:04 | |
| Michael Horn, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, has arrived and the hearing is about to begin. | |
| Horn’s prepared remarks can be found here. | |
| Pennsylvania congressman Tim Murphy begins the hearing saying that his first car was a Volkswagen beetle. | |
| “I loved that car,” says Murphy. | |
| 2.58pm BST14:58 | |
| You can watch the Volkswagen hearing here on C-SPAN: | |
| THURSDAY: @HouseCommerce #SubOversight hearing on #Volkswagen emissions issues - LIVE C-SPAN3 http://t.co/4hnnH9SD16 pic.twitter.com/0h2jXRuJkq | |
| 2.52pm BST14:52 | 2.52pm BST14:52 |
| In case you need a refresher before the hearing starts, here is our video that explains what VW did and why: | In case you need a refresher before the hearing starts, here is our video that explains what VW did and why: |
| 2.50pm BST14:50 | 2.50pm BST14:50 |
| While we have been waiting for the hearing to begin, VW’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany have been raided by officials. | While we have been waiting for the hearing to begin, VW’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany have been raided by officials. |
| Here is what we have so far: | Here is what we have so far: |
| Prosecutors in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, say the raids were carried out on Thursday in Wolfsburg, where VW has its headquarters, and at other locations. | Prosecutors in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, say the raids were carried out on Thursday in Wolfsburg, where VW has its headquarters, and at other locations. |
| In a statement, they said the aim of the searches was to “secure documents and data storage devices” that could identify those involved in the alleged manipulation and explain how it was carried out. | In a statement, they said the aim of the searches was to “secure documents and data storage devices” that could identify those involved in the alleged manipulation and explain how it was carried out. |
| Related: German prosecutors raid VW offices in emissions inquiry | Related: German prosecutors raid VW offices in emissions inquiry |
| 2.46pm BST14:46 | 2.46pm BST14:46 |
| Michael Horn to testify before congressional committee at 10 am | Michael Horn to testify before congressional committee at 10 am |
| Good morning, welcome to our live blog of today’s hearing on Volkswagen’s emissions-rigging scandal. The hearing, held by the US House committee on energy and commerce, is set to starts at 10am ET. | Good morning, welcome to our live blog of today’s hearing on Volkswagen’s emissions-rigging scandal. The hearing, held by the US House committee on energy and commerce, is set to starts at 10am ET. |
| Michael Horn, president and CEO of Volkswagen (VW) Group of America, will be the first to testify. According to his prepared remarks, he will confirm that he knew of the company’s emission rigging issues as early as spring 2014 and will once again apologize for VW’s use of the rigging software. | Michael Horn, president and CEO of Volkswagen (VW) Group of America, will be the first to testify. According to his prepared remarks, he will confirm that he knew of the company’s emission rigging issues as early as spring 2014 and will once again apologize for VW’s use of the rigging software. |
| The use of the software first came to light in spring 2014 when John German, an automotive engineer, working with the West Virginia University conducted emissions tests on real roads instead of in the lab. He sent a copy of his report to VW – at which time Horn will testify he was told of possible emissions non-compliance. | The use of the software first came to light in spring 2014 when John German, an automotive engineer, working with the West Virginia University conducted emissions tests on real roads instead of in the lab. He sent a copy of his report to VW – at which time Horn will testify he was told of possible emissions non-compliance. |
| It wasn’t until September, however, that the public became aware of this issue. On 18 September, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered VW to recall 482,000 four-cylinder Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars. According to the EPA, since 2008 the software allowed those cars to cheat emissions tests while producing up to 40 times more pollution than allowed. | It wasn’t until September, however, that the public became aware of this issue. On 18 September, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered VW to recall 482,000 four-cylinder Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars. According to the EPA, since 2008 the software allowed those cars to cheat emissions tests while producing up to 40 times more pollution than allowed. |
| You can read more about Horn’s prepared remarks here: | You can read more about Horn’s prepared remarks here: |
| Related: Head of VW in US will tell Congress he knew of emissions rigging in early 2014 | Related: Head of VW in US will tell Congress he knew of emissions rigging in early 2014 |
| And you can also read more about John German, the man who helped expose Volkswagen’s emissions scandal, here: | And you can also read more about John German, the man who helped expose Volkswagen’s emissions scandal, here: |
| Related: Meet John German: the man who helped expose Volkswagen's emissions scandal | Related: Meet John German: the man who helped expose Volkswagen's emissions scandal |