Germany approves 30-minute software update fix for cheating Volkswagen diesels

German regulators have approved fixes to Volkswagen’s diesel vehicles in connection with the emission-cheating scandal, the company said today. The 1.2 and 2.0 liter engines will only require a software update that Volkswagen group says should take “under half an hour”.

Write to Monica Houston-Waesch at Nikki.

It can be noted that Europe’s auto giant is to provide updates on the pollution-cheating scandal as it invites concerns to “inform the public of the current state of the investigations into the diesel affair and the company’s strategic re-orientation”, as indicated in the auto company’s invitation, Yahoo News reported.

The fixes will apply to 1.2 liter, 1.6 liter, and 2.0 liter diesel engines.

Until December 31, 2017 Volkswagen is waiving the limitation period in respect of any claims made in connection with the software installed in vehicles with EA 189 engines.

The final approval by automotive regulator KBA will let Volkswagen start repairing the bulk of cars that carried the test-rigging software, though the clearance doesnt apply in the US, where the issue first came to light three months ago and where regulators have widened a probe.

The German automaker’s sales grew by a meager 2.8 percent in November, according to an Associated Press report. Authorities in that market also are investigating 3.0-liter diesel engines.

The Zwickau plant, the fifth largest of VW’s 10 Germany-based factories where 8800 staff assemble the Golf and Passat models, will face idling because of a mandatory holiday in 2016 and plans by management to cut the Phaeton saloon, whose body shell is also built at the site, to only an electric version. “In this connection the Volkswagen brand is assuring all customers that where necessary an appropriate replacement mobility option will be provided free of charge”, a Volkswagen statement reads.

One thing is certain: the vehicles continue to be technically safe and ready to drive and can therefore be used on the road without any restrictions.