The carmaker, which posted a 5.3 per cent dip in year-on-year global sales in October, said the new ratings for the current cars will be set by the German Federal Vehicle and Transport Authority (KBA) and any increase in owners’ tax costs will be paid for by VW.
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These are fitted to the Audi A1, SEAT Ibiza and Leon, Skoda Fabia, Rapid, Yeti, Octavia and Superb and Volkswagen Polo, Tiguan, Jetta, Scirocco, Golf, Golf Cabriolet, Golf SV, Touran, CC and Passat.
Britain is to launch an inquiry into the system used to approve vehicles, including their emissions levels, in the wake of the diesel engines scandal engulfing Volkswagen.
The expansion marked the 26th straight month of growth, albeit sluggishly with two of the biggest markets, France and Germany, growing by just 1 percent, and Britain contracting by as much. VW is now beginning the brand rehabilitation process with its first U.S.ad campaign since the news broke. The vehicle maker’s dealers in Germany, Europe’s biggest auto market, offered customers an average 11.2 per cent off the sticker price, 1.6 percentage points more than in the previous month, according to trade publication Autohaus PulsSchlag.
Apparently, the software installed in the cars concerned turns on pollution controls during emission tests but turn them off when the auto is driven on the road, meaning that, during all these vehicles’ sojourns on the road, emissions of nitrogen oxide exceed normal and safe limits. Within days, new diesel sales were stopped and the automaker withdrew its request for certification of its 2016 diesel models.
“The temporary sales stops for vehicles affected by the diesel issue had an impact on sales”, said Juergen Stackmann, Volkswagen board member responsible for sales.
“The entire company is working to restore the trust of our customers in the brand and our products”, VW brand sales chief Juergen Stackmann said. The United Kingdom slipped 1.1%, the first monthly decline in Europe’s second-largest vehicle market since February 2012.
VW brand boss Herbert Diess said that the automaker has not uncovered evidence of other misconduct aside from the emissions cheating software and the carbon-dioxide discrepancies, Reuters reports.
At the same time the Volkswagen Group is informing its importers and trading partners.
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The newspaper ad takes the form of a letter from Volkswagen Group of America CEO Michael Horn, addressed to the 482,000 owners of the affected 2.0-liter diesel cars built between model years 2009 and 2015.
