SEAT – a wholly-owned subsidiary of the VW Group – are directly in the firing line as part of the worldwide emissions scandal. Recent testing has some of their vehicles recording nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions of up to five times outside of the regulated limit; even post-recall.<\/p>\n
As a subsidiary of the VW Group, many SEAT vehicles contain the so-called “defeat device” and owners are already a part of the legal action here in the UK.
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The Environmental Group of the Directorate General of Police produced a report, which is linked to the investigation being carried out in relation to some of the VW vehicles that allegedly have the “defeat device” installed in them. The software altered the NOx emissions when the vehicle was undergoing testing in the laboratory, allowing the NOx emission to be a lot less than when driven in ‘real-life’.<\/p>\n
SEAT vehicles under scrutiny are models like the 1.6 litres SEAT Altea TDI and a 2.0 litres SEAT Leon TDI. The Altea was found to be emitting NOx emissions by more than five times the approved limit, and the Leon was reportedly emitting three times greater than the limit.<\/p>\n
The Environmental Directorate didn’t disclose any further information, but took these two models out as a reference for conducting the tests. A spokesperson said that emission figures in all vehicles differ in real-life conditions, not only the SEAT.<\/p>\n
So far, VW has reportedly identified 76,773 SEAT models in the U.K. that are due for a recall. VW has noted that the 2.0 litre diesel vehicles should receive a software modification, while 1.6 litre vehicles may need a ‘flow transformer’ device. This device can enable the engine’s computer to calculate the right amount of fuel and air emissions.<\/p>\n