California demands fixes for 16,000 more VW cars

LOS ANGELES (AP) - California air quality regulators on Wednesday demanded a recall of up to 16,000 additional Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche diesels as the Volkswagen emissions scandal widened.

The notice from the California Air Resources Board came less than a week after state and federal regulators disclosed that Volkswagen Group automakers installed software to cheat emissions tests on more diesels than initially thought.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board said last week the software was on about 85,000 Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche vehicles with 3-liter, six-cylinder engines going back to the 2009 model year.

Earlier this month, regulators accused VW of installing the so-called "defeat device" software on about 10,000 cars from the 2014 through 2016 model years.

The engines in question were built by Audi and distributed to Porsche and Volkswagen as well, said David Clegern, a California Air Resources Board spokesman. The automakers each independently certified their products with state and federal regulators and are therefore all responsible, he said.

The software is on Audi Q7 and Volkswagen Touareg SUVs from the 2009 through 2016 model years, as well as the Porsche Cayenne from 2013 to 2016. Also covered are Audi A6, A7, A8 and Q5s from the 2014 to 2016 model years, according to the EPA.

The carmakers have 45 business days to present a recall plan.

Volkswagen spokesman Darryl Harrison referred calls to Audi. In an emailed statement Wednesday, Audi said it expected the regulatory action and took the matter very seriously.