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VW ceases production of diesel Passats in Chattanooga

FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2015 file photo new cars of Volkswagen AG stand at the car terminal in Emden, Germany. Volkswagen is reporting a loss of 1.67 billion euros (US dollar 1.83 billion) in the third quarter, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015, as earnings took a hit from 6.7 billion euros in set-asides for recalls and fines connected to cars rigged to evade U.S. diesel emissions testing. (Ingo Wagner/dpa via AP, file)
FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2015 file photo new cars of Volkswagen AG stand at the car terminal in Emden, Germany. Volkswagen is reporting a loss of 1.67 billion euros (US dollar 1.83 billion) in the third quarter, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015, as earnings took a hit from 6.7 billion euros in set-asides for recalls and fines connected to cars rigged to evade U.S. diesel emissions testing. (Ingo Wagner/dpa via AP, file) FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2015 file photo new cars of Volkswagen AG stand at the car terminal in Emden, Germany. Volkswagen is reporting a loss of 1.67 billion euros (US dollar 1.83 billion) in the third quarter, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015, as earnings took a hit from 6.7 billion euros in set-asides for recalls and fines connected to cars rigged to evade U.S. diesel emissions testing. (Ingo Wagner/dpa via AP, file)

By Mike Pare 1 min read

photo Greenpeace activists stand with ‘CO2’ formed with the VW logo and a banner that reads ‘the problem’ above the Volkswagen factory gate in Wolfsburg, Germany, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. (Peter Steffen/dpa via AP)

Volkswagen has stopped production of diesel-powered 2016 Passat sedans at its Chattanooga plant in the wake of the emissions-rigging scandal.

The pause comes amid a planned production ramp-up for the refreshed Passat, the company said Tuesday.

“We are not building Passats with TDI engines at this time, but as we are in the middle of the ramp up of the production volume, it is no problem to adjust the mix to accommodate this change,” said company spokesman Scott Wilson.

After the EPA announced in September that diesel vehicles contained illegal software that masked their emissions, the company said it was continuing to build Passats but not sell them as it awaited a fix for the vehicles.

Wilson said in an email that there are no other changes on the plant’s floor, and he said that the $600 million expansion of the factory to build a midsize SUV is continuing.