Investing.com -- U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R, Michigan) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy (R, Pennsylania) announced on Monday that the committee will hold a hearing in the coming weeks to investigate charges that Volkswagen (XETRA:VOWG) AG (XETRA:VOWG_p) violated Federal and state regulations by installing sophisticated computer software in nearly 485,000 vehicles in an effort to allegedly evade clean air standards.
It comes days after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State of California notified Volkswagen AG , Audi AG and the Volkswagen Group of America of violations that the companies allegedly implemented software, which circumvents EPA emissions standards for certain pollutants. Under the charges, Volkswagen is accused of employing a sophisticated software algorithm in certain vehicles that detects when the cars are undergoing official emissions testing. The "defeat device" or emission controls, are typically turned off when the vehicles are not being monitored for testing, according to officials from the EPA and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
During normal operations when the defeat device is not in use, the Volkswagen vehicles can emit nitrogen oxide levels of up to 40 times the standard defined by the Federal Clean Air Act, according to the EPA.
"Strong emissions standards are in place for the benefit of public health. Manufacturers throughout the United States, and across the world, have developed leading technologies to reduce airborne emissions within the limits set by EPA and state environmental agencies. However, reported EPA allegations that certain Volkswagen models contained software to defeat auto emissions tests raise serious questions,” Upton and Murphy said in a statement.
“We will follow the facts. We are also concerned that auto consumers may have been deceived – that what they were purchasing did not come as advertised. The American people deserve answers and assurances that this will not happen again. We intend to get those answers.”
The allegations cover diesel Volkswagen vehicles sold in the U.S. since 2008, including Jetta, Golf, Passat and Beetle models, as well as Audi A3s sold over the last six years. On Sunday, Volkswagen announced that it will suspend the sale of 2015 Volkswagen and Audi vehicle that include 4-cylinder turbo diesel engines that regulators say contain the software. The maximum fines for the violations could exceed as much as $18 billion.
"I personally am deeply sorry that we have broken the trust of our customers and the public," Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn said in a statement.
On Monday, shares in Volkswagen plummeted as much as 23% wiping out approximately $17 billion in market value.