Volkswagen says carbon emissions issue smaller than thought

Volkswagen Group said a problem over potentially misreported carbon dioxide emissions in some vehicles is much smaller than it previously thought.

The company had estimated last year that up to 800,000 vehicles could have misreported emissions, encompassing nine models and costing up to $2.2 billion to remedy.

{mosads}But it has since discovered that “only a small number” of vehicles could have the problem, and the cost will only be “minor.”

“Following extensive internal investigations and measurement checks, it is now clear that almost all of these model variants do correspond to the CO2 figures originally determined,” the Germany-based company said in a statement.

“This means that these vehicles can be marketed and sold without any limitations.”

The cars now affected represent only 0.5 percent of Volkswagen’s sales volume, it said.

The carbon issue threatened to expand a scandal over nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel vehicles in the Volkswagen Group.

The company admitted that it programmed millions of vehicles worldwide to cheat emissions tests after Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) investigations found that some vehicles were polluting up to 40 times the allowable nitrogen oxides.