South Korea: VW rigged emissions in 125000 diesel

The ministry said it had confirmed the cheating in Euro 5 cars with the older EA 189 diesel engine, including the popular Tiguan model. At present South Korea’s Environment Ministry said it had not yet determined whether VW vehicles with the newer EA288 engine (primarily Euro 6 models) had rigged emissions. It affects over 11 million vehicles worldwide, although the measures accepted by the Federal Motor Transport Authority are not applicable to American and Canadian-market cars.

Linda Gomersall, general manager of Autogas Limited said: “With its potential for huge cost savings, LPG has always appealed to those drivers looking to reduce their fuel bills, but with the growing concerns about emissions levels over the last couple of months, we’re now seeing a significant increase in conversion enquiries as more fleets and individuals look for cleaner alternatives to diesel and petrol”. “And then they said, ‘We have to assume that in the U.S. part of the software that controls the [engine] heating function can probably be considered a defeat device”. It was programmed not to do that during lab tests.

The ministry ordered Volkswagen Korea to stop selling all cars equipped with the EA189 engine and to recall all 125,522 units already sold in the country. Meanwhile Seoul has imposed a $12.31 million fine on the company and ordered Volkswagen Korea to submit a recall plan by January 6, 2016. But some customers may not bother because they prefer better fuel efficiency.

Bumper stickers identifying recalled and readjusted cars will be made obligatory to ensure consumers comply with the recall as early as possible, the ministry said. Testing of 15 other automakers’ diesel models would be completed by April.

Authorities in the US and Germany have launched investigations of the world’s No. 2 premium vehicle maker on Wednesday, marking the first time that engines built by Audi for the Volkswagen group are clearly in the focus of the emissions crisis. “It is too early to give exact schedules, but it could be early next year”. Mr. Stadler’s background is in finance and his lack of engineering expertise has always been seen inside Volkswagen as an obstacle to him ever becoming CEO of the Volkswagen group.