Volkswagen Group of America CEO Michael HornVolkswagen Group of America CEO Michael Horn, testifying before a Congressional committee today, said it may take one or two years at a minimum to fix the nearly 500,000 diesel vehicles at the center of an emission-rigging scandal.
He said a software fix may be available on some of the vehicles in the U.S., but a hardware repair may be needed on about 400,000 of them.
Horn also said he first learned a software defeat device was installed on some diesel vehicles on Sept. 3 following a meeting with environmental regulators.
"I didn't have any reason to expect our vehicles included such a device" before that time, said Horn before the House Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
He said he felt "personally deceived" about the use of the software that included a so-called defeat device in the cars that allowed them to pass EPA tests but spewed out much higher emissions on the road.
U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn said at the hearing in Washington, D.C., that Volkswagen's actions are "a systemic failure" of a few VW employees, though not workers in Chattanooga or in Tennessee.
"It is disappointing," said Blackburn, vice chairman of the House committee.
Blackburn said she's aware that Gov. Bill Haslam was at the Chattanooga plant on Wednesday, and that he, state legislators and the Congressional delegation are "quite concerned" about Volkswagen's actions.
"We've got hard-working Tennesseans at the Chattanooga factory," she said.