VW scandal: 1.8 million commercial vehicles affected

Audi’s orator said the difficulties of a given world’s nationally recognized homologation necessities managed to get it more hard to come across all along the suffering motor vehicles as quickly as these targeted.

The company said British customers would be contacted soon to get their vehicles corrected.

“However it is our understanding that the software is inactive in all vehicles with the EA189 engine”, said Audi Australia general manager of corporate communications, Anna Burgdorf, when referring to Australian delivered cars.

“We will only be able to make progress in steps and there will be setbacks”.

Norway’s economic and environmental crimes unit Okokrim launched an investigation last week to determine whether Volkswagen had also used defeat device software for cheating on emissions tests in its diesel vehicles in the Nordic country.

It’s unclear how numerous 11 million affected diesel-powered vehicles will be recalled for a refitting, but every one that is will need software changes to rid the cars of so-called “defeat devices” used to trick U.S. authorities.

This resulted in vehicles meet emissions standards in the laboratory or testing station, but during normal operation, emit nitrogen oxides at up to 40 times the standard.

“Its plan is to recall 120,000 cars”, the ministry said in a statement.

The company has not confirmed which models are affected.

“An internal evaluation on Friday established that a service procedure is required for a few five million vehicles from the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand out of a total 11 million Group vehicles worldwide”.

“In its first step, effective immediately VGA has temporarily suspended the sale of affected vehicles fitted with 1.6 or 2.0-litre EA189 diesel engines”.

Since the emissions crisis started, the Group’s CEO, Martin Winterkorn has resigned and was replaced by the former Porsche chief executive, Matthias Muller. This would affect 3,320 vehicles now in stock.

Transport Minister Dan Tok says 101,000 of those were made by the local VW brand Skoda Auto, 38,000 by Volkswagen, 7,000 by Audi and 1,800 by Seat.

Diesel engines offer better mileage per gallon of fuel (pleasing their American customers) and lower carbon emissions than petrol or hybrid-electric ones, like what rival Toyota was betting on.