Following announcements from Volkswagen, Skoda and Audi in Australia that nearly 100,000 cars locally are caught up in the debacle (with pending voluntary recalls from each), a class action that was waiting in the wings has now been launched.
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Volkswagen’s new CEO, Matthias Müller, said this week that the global recall program would begin in January with the aim of having all problem vehicles sorted by the end of 2016.
“Until a technical solution is made available from the head office of Volkswagen AG, customers do not need to take any further action”.
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In a statement just released, the company said “the relevant government authorities have been advised of this action and VGA will continue to work closely with them as it awaits further information from the head office of Volkswagen”.
On Wednesday the Volkswagen Group confirmed more than 90,000 cars across the VW, Audi and Skoda brands in Australia would be recalled because they were equipped with diesel engines created to cheat emissions tests.
“You paid for a premium for that auto on the understanding that it is a green vehicle that meets the acceptable emissions standard and has high performance, and it turns out those are mutually exclusive promises”.
No details have been given of subsequent stages of its actions.
Owners of 91,000 cheating Volkswagen may be eligible for extended warranties, replacement vehicles or even full refunds, consumer lawyers and advocates say.
Volkswagen will likely have additional tax issues connected to dieselgate also added to its headache.
“It is important for customers to note that all affected vehicles remain technically safe and drivable and that we will contact them in time to advise what the next steps are”, said Mr White.
“Audi and Volkswagen need to ensure that numbers are finalised and all affected consumers are notified as soon as possible”, Fletcher said.
“We will do everything we can to fix this problem and regain the trust of our customers”.
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Muller stated that what had happened went against “everything the Group and its people stand for”. Anything that is not absolutely necessary will be cancelled or postponed. To be perfectly frank: “this will not be a painless process”, he stated. All have diesel engines of the EA 189 type, which includes engines at 1.2lt, 1.6lt, and 2.0lt.
