VW: Emissions 'irregularities' extend to gasoline engines

The company suggests at least 800,000 vehicles are affected, potentially increasing the bill by $2.2 billion.

Volkswagen has again expanded the scope of its emissions scandal, finding 'irregularities' with additional diesel and gasoline engines.

The company issued a statement promising to remain transparent as it continues its internal investigations, just days after clashing with the Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board over allegations that its V6 TDI engines are outfitted with emissions 'defeat' software.

Despite the promised clarification, VW's latest statement included no references to specific engines that are suspected of violating emissions regulations.

"Under the ongoing review of all processes and workflows in connection with diesel engines it was established that the CO2 levels and thus the fuel consumption figures for some models were set too low during the CO2 certification process," the company added.

The statement also appeared to avoid specifically identifying problems with gasoline engines, instead obliquely noting that "the majority of the vehicles concerned have diesel engines." The company claims a "reliable assessment of the scale of these irregularities is not yet possible," though at least 800,000 vehicles are currently known to be affected.

The German automaker suggests the findings are estimated to elevate recall costs and other economic risks by an additional two billion euros (~$2.2 billion USD).