The Senate Finance Committee opened a probe Tuesday into Volkswagen’s use of a federal tax credit intended for fuel-efficient cars as the company’s emissions-rigging scandal widened.
Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in a letter to Volkswagen that more than $50 million in tax subsidies might have gone to VW owners under false pretenses. Hatch is chairman of the Finance panel and Wyden is its senior Democrat.
Volkswagen’s use of “defeat devices” in diesel passenger cars raises the question of whether the automaker “made false representations to the U.S. government” in certifying that the VW Jetta and other models met emissions standards needed to claim the $1,300-per-vehicle tax credit, the senators said. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter, which was sent to VW late Tuesday.
The vehicles in which Volkswagen installed the defeat devices “included those that the company certified as qualifying for the advanced lean-burn technology motor vehicle credit,” Hatch and Wyden said.
The letter asks the company to respond by Oct. 30.
The Senate Finance probe comes as the House and Energy Committee has scheduled a hearing Thursday on the emission-rigging scandal. Michael Horn, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, is scheduled to testify.
Also Tuesday, Volkswagen AG chief executive Matthias Mueller said the company will delay or cancel nonessential projects as pressure mounts to slash spending in the wake of the diesel-emissions scandal.
Fixing about 11 million rigged diesel vehicles is a costly prospect. The 6.5 billion euros, or $7.29 billion, Volkswagen has set aside for repairs won’t be enough to cover fines and potential legal damages as well, Mueller said.
