The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) found that diesel cars manufactured in India by Volkswagen having E189 engine were fitted with the “defeat device”, which may lead to excess nitrogen oxide emission levels in on-road vehicles.
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In a statement, Volkswagen said the drop reflected “the impact of the recent stop-sale for all 2.0L 4-cylinder TDI vehicles as well as for the 3.0L V6”.
The so-called Dieselgate has taken its toll, as Volkswagen is reporting a major 25 percent decline in United States sales.
“From the end of this month, we will start testing all passenger diesel vehicles in India to estimate whether they have committed emission violations”. Just under 24,000 were sold here last month.
The sales gain was achieved even though this November had two fewer selling days than a year ago because of a calendar quirk.
Under US law, that would make Bosch a co-conspirator under anti-racketeering laws, making the company liable for triple damages for the fraud caused to US consumers, the lawsuit says.
Edward Cox, a commercial litigator, said he wanted compensation for his clients as their vehicles had been devalued by the scandal.
The steep drop in sales came during a month in which most automakers benefited from healthy demand for new vehicles, particularly pickup trucks and sport-utility models.
The Porsche-Piech family has been asked by labor leaders to signal their commitment to workers, who are now facing two weeks of forced leave during the Christmas holidays as the crisis begins to affect sales. Volkswagen has mentioned that it will continue to be highly committed to the Indian market and will not differ from its future investments, product models and future vehicles. This comes a week after VW was ordered by South Korea to recall more than 125,000 diesel vehicles. Honda, however, fell 5.2 percent.
Yet while the industry is enjoying its best sales performance this year in more than a decade, analysts said the companies were relying on more discounts and sales promotions to maintain momentum in the market.
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The Robert Bosch company is named as a defendant in a Volkswagen emissions class-action lawsuit that names VW, Bosch, former VW CEO Martin Winterkorn and current CEO Michael Horn as defendants. Volkswagen and the German industry have been rocked by revelations starting September 18 that the carmaker had used software to hoodwink regulators about the true emissions of its diesel cars for years.
