Technologies used by Volkswagen to rig vehicle emissions tests should be considered illegal, the European Union’s highest court ruled on Thursday, even if they contribute to preventing ageing or clogging up of the engine in.reuters.com/article/us-vol…
The Court of Justice of the European Union was asked to rule in a French prosecution against the carmaker for allegedly deceiving purchasers of diesel vehicles
Volkswagen had argued in favour of a restrictive definition of devices used to rig emissions tests, limited to technologies and strategies operating only “downstream” or after potential emissions are produced
However, the court found that the term should also apply to “upstream” technology
Use of so-called defeat devices to help a vehicle pass emissions tests is illegal under EU law
The French case concerned an Exhaust Gas Recirculation ERG valve which can redirect some exhaust gases back into the air supply for the engine to reduce final NOx emissions
The ERG was adjusted in tests using a device to allow emissions to remain below the regulatory ceiling, but according to an expert’s report the device would in normal conditions lead to the partial deactivation of the ERG and higher NOx emissions
Operation of the ERG would have made maintenance more frequent and expensive because, for example, the engine would clog up more quickly
Volkswagen announced recalls of almost 950,000 vehicles in France following the “dieselgate” scandal in which it admitted in 2015 to using illegal software to cheat U.S. diesel engine tests
The scandal has cost Volkswagen more than $30 billion in vehicle refits, fines and provisions
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@19Joe92@Kristofus97 I am all in favor of competition with a level playing field
But when you deploy billions of dollars from the deep pockets of the ECB into uneconomical and uncompetitive projects that will never be expected to recover their original capital investments . . .
@19Joe92@Kristofus97 . . . and then enter the market against a privately funded initiative that has to fund itself and recover the full economic cost of its operations from its customers . . .
@19Joe92@Kristofus97 . . . you risk creating a serious market distortion that destroys or undermines the natural value of private capital while simultaneously burning public capital
When done knowingly this represents the worst example of value-destructive market interventions by the public sector
Toyota’s Chief Says “Electric Vehicles Are Overhyped”
Toyota President Akio Toyoda said “Japan would run out of electricity in the summer if all cars were running on electric power” wsj.com/articles/toyot…
FIRST, LET’S SEE WHAT THE WSJ REPORTS :
Toyota Motor Corp.’s leader criticized what he described as excessive hype over electric vehicles, saying advocates failed to consider the carbon emitted by generating electricity and the costs of an EV transition
The infrastructure needed to support a fleet consisting entirely of EVs would cost Japan between ¥14 trillion and ¥37 trillion, the equivalent of $135 billion to $358 billion, he said
15% Of Diesel Pickups In The U.S. Have Emissions Defeat Devices
A study conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Enforcement Division has revealed the full scope of aftermarket emission defeat devices used by U.S. diesel vehicle owners carscoops.com/2020/12/15-of-…
In the report the AED estimates that emissions controls have been removed from more than 550,000 diesel pickups in the last decade
The removal of these systems will produce more than 570,000 tons of excess oxides of nitrogen and 5,000 tons of excess particulate matter over the lifetime of these vehicles
LG Energy Solution is set to become the first company to produce batteries with nickel, cobalt, manganese and aluminum NCMA anode materials for EVs next year
John Fichthorn had been in the hedge fund business for more than 20 years when a half-hour phone call with a stranger put him on high alert
In December 2017, Fichthorn — a veteran short-seller and the founder of hedge fund Dialectic Capital Management — had joined the board of a troubled small-cap company called Health Insurance Innovations