Volkswagen scandal: France opens inquiry into ‘deception’

Australian owners of affected cars are still in the dark as Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda are yet to issue a recall locally.

Asked whether there was any way, other than asking the manufacturer, for people to find if a specific model complies with European Union rules, a KBA spokesman said: “I don´t think so”.

Audi customers will be informed in the coming weeks and months about how their cars will be retrofitted. Audi said customers could do the same on its www.audi.de site.

Volkswagen, which is already implementing a 5 billion euro cost savings programme at its VW brand, imposed a hiring freeze at its financing arm and cut a shift at a German engine factory on September 29, in a sign it is bracing for a blow to its business.

As in Salzgitter, the shift being cut in Puebla had recently been added to meet what had been expected to be rising demand.

There is no evidence to date that other carmakers have used the same “cheat” software as Volkswagen.

Alongside the Paris prosecutor’s investigation, several complaints have been announced in France by an environmental association and the French owners of Volkswagen diesel cars as well as shareholders in the VW auto group.

“Consumers may have been misled in their purchases by the claims on emissions and type approval standards used by Volkswagen within their advertising campaigns and informational brochures distributed by dealers and retailers”, it added.

The move follows findings by United States investigators that the auto company rigged vehicle pollution emissions tests.

Maynard said that in the long run, it may be a while before many consumers begin to trust the company again. “I think it would maybe be early 2016”, she said. They all will be remembered to get revision. The ban prevents new cars from being allowed in traffic. The product they sell is tainted, and the consumers they serve are furious, while the world waits to learn what the vehicle company will do to resolve the problem.

Volkwagen is also entangled in probes closer to home.

For a recall to happen, said Maynard, Volkswagen has to first propose a fix, which would need to be approved by the governing bodies in different markets. In Germany, only individuals can be charged with crimes rather than corporations.

The scandal has exposed inadequate regulations, particularly in Europe where the importance of the vehicle industry to jobs and exports has given it a powerful voice in policymaking.

Lawyers are also moving to consolidate widespread litigation from private citizens stemming from the cheating scandal.

French authorities have opened an inquiry into Volkswagen over the rigging of emission tests.

Volkswagen also named the members of a five-member board committee that is to monitor the progress of the investigation into how cars were equipped with software that turned on emission controls during official testing but turned them off them during ordinary driving.