Volkswagen’s annual general meeting was full of information and scrutiny, because of diesel-gate and the Group’s new direction. As a result, one item was overshadowed and that was CEO Matthias Muller’s announcement that the Group would be installing a soot-reducing filter to some of its gas engines.

The first vehicles to receive the filter will be the 1.4L TSI version of the VW Tiguan and the 2.0L TFSI in the Audi A5, starting mid-2017.

“This [initiative] will reduce particulate emissions by up to 90%,” said Muller at the AGM. “Up to 7 million Volkswagen vehicles could  be equipped with this technology each year by 2022.”

Volkswagen is familiar with the technology, because particle filters have been mandatory on diesel vehicles in Europe since 2009. They work by trapping soot in the exhaust system, which is then burned off by the high temperatures therein.

Although gasoline engines are much cleaner than diesel engines, direct injection engines are dirtier than their port-injected counterparts. Although direct injection engines are more fuel efficient than, the fuel has less time to mix in the combustion chamber, leading to a higher output of toxic particulate matter.

The move is necessary, say the company, to comply with coming emissions targets in Europe.