Punishment against Volkswagen

30 diesel and gasoline models of Audi and Volkswagen manipulated the results of noise and gas emissions tests during the certification process.
30 diesel and gasoline models of Audi and Volkswagen manipulated the results of noise and gas emissions tests during the certification process.

 

It was found that about 30 diesel and gasoline models of Audi and Volkswagen that have sold since 2007 vehicles received certificates from the Korean Ministry of the Environment with faked and fabricated documents. The ministry said on July 11 that it received official documents to request cooperation from the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office looking into a gas emissions manipulation case involving Volkswagen. The documents include a list of Volkswagen models that are suspected to have fabricated noise and gas emissions test scores.  

Therefore, the Ministry of Environment found out the fact that the German automaker manipulated the results of noise and gas emissions tests of the Audi RS7, Audi A8, Golf 1.4TSI, Golf 2.0GTD and Bentley during the certification process and will take various administrative measures such as the suspension of sales and the cancellation of certificates.

The ministry is planning to order Volkswagen to suspend the sale of its unsold cars and to lay fine on unsold cars and recall them in addition to the cancellation of certificates if they find Volkswagen wrong.   

The Ministry of Environment said that as the administrative measure procedure was underway, it was difficult to exactly count vehicles that would receive the measure. Industry experts estimate that the administrative measures will be taken against 40% to 60% of 250,000 Volkswagen vehicles which translates into 100,000 to 150,000 units.   

Earlier, last November, the ministry took administrative measures including a recall against Volkswagen for manipulating exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) devices of 125,522 units of 15 models including the Tiguan and the Golf and discharging air pollutants and reported the fact to the prosecution. Volkswagen submitted a deficient plan but the plan was rejected by the ministry in January. In March, the German automaker handed in the second plan. But the second plan failed to satisfy the ministry which then warned that if the plan is not improved, they will not allow a recall itself.

Despite the warning, the ministry gave Audi Volkswagen Korea disapproval as the company did not clarify a defeat device to rig emissions tests in the recall plan which it submitted for the third time on June 7.

The disapproval of the recall plan does not call for the supplementation of the recall plan but nullifies the recall plan itself. Thus, Audi Volkswagen Korea should restart a recall procedure from the scratch. The list of questionable models that the ministry received from the prosecution accounts for over 70% of vehicles that have sold over the past ten years. This fact leads some industry watchers to even analyze that virtually, Volkswagen vehicles will be kicked out of the Korean market.     

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