大众拟用催化转化器修复受影响汽车

Volkswagen has devised a new catalytic converter that could fix the majority of the cars in the US affected¹ by the diesel² emissions³ scandal, as details emerge of its attempts to satisfy regulators.

大众汽车(Volkswagen)设计出一种新的催化转化器，可以用来修复在其美国销售的、受柴油排放造假丑闻影响的大部分汽车。

The German carmaker is trying to find a way to repair almost 600,000 cars in the US affected by so-called defeat devices, which VW admitted installing to dupe test laboratories into thinking its vehicles emitted fewer pollutants⁴. The cheat software affects more than 11m cars worldwide.

这家德国车企正想方设法修复近60万辆在美销售的、受所谓“减效装置”(defeat device)影响的汽车。大众承认，安装这种装置是为了欺骗检测实验室，让其认为大众的汽车排放的污染物更少。全球各地受这一欺骗性软件影响的车辆超过1100万辆。

But while VW has been granted approval in Europe to carry out software patches and cheap hardware fixes for 8.5m cars, it has yet to find an acceptable solution in the US.

但是，尽管大众在欧洲获准为850万辆汽车的软件打补丁并展开成本不高的硬件修理，可它在美国尚未找到可被当局接受的解决方案。

One of the remedies under discussion includes a catalytic converter that would make some 430,000 diesel models compliant⁵ with US clean air rules, said a person familiar with the matter.

知情人士表示，讨论当中的补救措施之一包括一种催化转化器，它将使大约43万辆柴油车符合美国的清洁空气规定。

The new hardware would also require a software update. The Environmental Protection Agency, which has set VW a deadline of this week, has yet to approve the solution.

这种新硬件也将需要进行软件升级。美国国家环保局(EPA)尚未批准这一解决方案。该局把本周定为大众拿出解决方案的截止日期。

The US has much tougher rules on the polluting nitrogen oxides produced by diesel engines than in Europe, making it harder for VW to bring its American fleet into compliance⁶.

在管理柴油发动机产生的污染性氮氧化物方面，美国的规定比欧洲严格得多，这加大了大众在美销售的汽车合规的难度。

Part of VW’s solutions for its US cars may involve installing tanks of urea, a chemical that helps break down Nox. Michael Horn, head of VW North America, told Congress last year that the 430,000 affected vehicles in the US fitted with a “lean Nox trap” system — which does not use urea — would require the fitting of a urea tank, as well as software modifications⁷. The remaining vehicles all already contain urea tanks and should be easier to fix.

大众为其在美销售的汽车提供的部分解决方案，或许包括安装尿素罐。尿素是一种帮助分解氮氧化物的化学物质。大众北美负责人迈克尔霍恩(Michael Horn)去年对美国国会表示，美国43万辆受影响的装有稀燃氮氧化物捕集器(lean Nox trap)系统——该系统不使用尿素——的车辆，将需要安装一个尿素罐，并进行软件修改。其余车辆已装有尿素罐，应当更容易修复。

The company declined to comment on the catalytic converter proposal, saying: “We’ve discussed several ideas with the authorities. During last week and for the following week we’ll have discussions with the authorities about the next steps [and] we hope to come closer to an agreement with them.”

大众拒绝就催化转换器方案置评。该公司表示：“我们已与当局讨论了几种思路。在上一周以及接下来的一周，我们将与当局讨论下一步措施，希望能更接近于与他们达成一项协议。”