Emission checks on all diesel vehicles
Out of that, 1,98,500 cars have been sold by Volkswagen, 88,700 by Skoda and 36,500 cars by Audi.
The company said that it had presented its “observations, findings and outlines of possible solutions” on the diesel engines to the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). Soon, the government will start testing all passenger diesel vehicles in India to estimate whether they have committed emission violations.
As the scandal continues to grow, federal prosecutors are looking into whether Bosch knew about or participated in the cheating scandal, as the supply giant built key components in the diesel engine used in the six Volkswagens and one Audi rigged to pass emissions testing. Anant Geete, Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, said that government has also chose to test all diesel vehicles to check for violations of emission norms in India.
“Over the next six months, we will carry out checks on emission levels of all diesel passenger vehicles in India”, Geete said here.
The software made it seem as though the vehicles, most of which had 2.0-liter diesel TDI engines, seem as though they were compliant with emissions standards when, in fact, some were emitting as much as 40 times the legal amount. “Once approved from the competent authorities, the respective brands of the Volkswagen Group in India will carry out necessary actions in a step-wise manner”. The installed defeat devices and software on the cars does not affect the handling or the technical capability of the cars. “During this time, we would like to thank our dealers and customers for their continued patience and loyalty”, said Mark McNabb, chief operating officer, Volkswagen of America. Volkswagen’s November U.S. sales crashed 25% from the previous year, as the company struggles to fix its tarnished reputation and brand image.
The company had to respond to the notice issued by the ARAI by the end of November.
A government probe, conducted by ARAI, found a “defeat device” in the engines. “In the next 3-6 months we will do that with all the vehicle manufacturers and every model”, he told ET.
The German auto manufacturer has laid the blame on the emission scandal which hit the company in September, when researchers in the USA found out that the company had a “cheat device” to fool the United States emissions test said a report in The Guardian.