In a statement, the German company said: “Approximately 323,700 cars of Volkswagen, SKODA and Audi in India are equipped with EA 189 diesel engines”, adding that the company would replace the software of the recalled cars. “The company was guilty of fitting emission cheating software in cars, calling it a “well thought-out” crime”, he said. He said that Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) had found emissions from VW group cars to be as high as 8-9 times in comparison to those promised during lab results.
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Soon, the government will start testing all passenger diesel vehicles in India to estimate whether they have committed emission violations. The rest of the country gets Euro-III fuel.
ARAI director Rashmi Urdhwareshe did not respond to phone calls or text messages. In a release on Tuesday the heavy industries ministry had said, “Based on the initial findings, there is indication that the diesel vehicles fitted with E189 engine and manufactured in India by Volkswagen Group of companies are fitted with the defeat device”.
In the USA, vehicle manufacturers follow a self-certification process where no third-party approval is required in terms of homologation or independent checks.
Yesterday, Union Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete had said, “The violation was detected when the on-road vehicles were tested”.
The company has already admitted that 11 million diesel engine cars worldwide were fitted with the software that helped in manipulating emission tests. The 1.5-litre and 1.6-litre diesel engines will go through certain hardware tweaks. The measure for the 1.2-litre engines will be announced shortly. The existing software does not affect the handling, technical safety or the roadworthiness of the vehicle.
Volkswagen India said it will work with government authorities for the recall of its diesel cars manufactured in the country.
“All the owners of vehicles with EA 189 engines will be informed by Volkswagen Group India through the respective brands about the technical measures that will be implemented in their cars”.
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VW has stated that it has presented its observations, findings and outlines of possible solutions on the EA 189 engines to the Government and ARAI. Earlier the company had announced vehicle recalls in other countries, including China.
