VW’s Europe sales up, market share off

Volkswagen (VW) failed to keep pace with European competitors as the German vehicle maker’s market share slipped last month in the wake of the diesel-emissions test scandal.

The solutions could involve both software and hardware measures.

The carmaker said it would actively approach and inform customers, and every VW customer can use the company’s website to check if their vehicles were affected via the car’s number.

VW spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan said the new issue with the 2016 diesel models, known as an auxiliary emissions control device, was first revealed last week to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California regulators.

But the EPA said it wants to test the new software before it orders a recall and sets a timetable for North American cars to be repaired.

Earlier, the mass-circulation daily Bild had claimed the German authorities were running out of patience with VW and felt the carmaker’s own proposals for a voluntary recall were insufficient.

Matthias Mueller, recently installed chief executive officer of the automaker, said the KBA decision “opens … the possibility of a common and coordinated response in all European Union states”. VW still hasn’t said what it will do to “fix” the vehicles other than saying a few diesel vehicles will need only a change to the software, while other cars may need new engine components.

German press reports named two of them as Ulrich Hackenberg, development chief at Volkswagen’s Audi subsidiary and Wolfgang Hatz, his counterpart at Porsche.

Volkswagen’s core passenger vehicle unit has announced a major overhaul of its diesel strategy following the emissions scandal. German police have swooped on Volkswagen’s headquarters, carrying away files and hard disks in their investigation into a massive pollution cheating scandal engulfing the auto giant.

It is reported that once fines, lawsuits and vehicle repairs are accounted for, the scandal could cost the Volkswagen Group as much as $40 billion.

Volkswagen recalls 2.4 million diesel vehicles equipped with defeat devices under pressure from Germany. In 2012 and 2013, the latest years for which data is available, companies agreed to 67 emissions recalls covering about 4 million vehicles, she said.

Volkswagen has said around 11 million cars with the software were sold worldwide, 2.8 million of them in Germany.