Almost 129000 VW cars in Switzerland affected by diesel scandal-distributor

No fewer than 129,000 Volkswagen vehicles registered in Switzerland were affected by the emissions testing scandal, the company’s Swiss distributor, AMAG said.

The ban, by the Swiss Federal Roads Office, would be on all Volkswagen group cars with diesel engines that contain software created to cheat pollution controls and includes its VW, Audi, Skoda and Seat brands.

As part of VW’s action plan to solve the crisis, AMAG said a plan to retrofit the affected cars would be presented to Swiss transport authorities in October.

The importer said owners of the impacted vehicles will be individually contacted about technical solutions to correct the emissions problem and dates will be set for getting the work done at different dealerships.

Volkswagen has issued a profit warning and disclosed a €6.5 billion ($7.27 billion) charge to earnings to cover the costs of addressing the matter, although US fines could be much higher.

It added that cars impacted by the scandal remain mechanically sound and roadworthy. It was revealed that VW had fitted 11 millions cars and vans with systems to pass emissions tests.

Cars already registered in Switzerland could still operate.

“Manipulation should not happen and I am sure that Volkswagen AG will do everything to resolve this incident and to improve the processes in the future”. On 18 September 2015, the US Environmental Protection Agency served a notice on Volkswagen alleging they had used an emissions-compliance “defeat device” on some of their cars.

A new boss for VW was announced on Friday, with Matthias Mueller replacing Martin Winterkorn resigning after the initial story broke.