The German auto maker’s subsidiary responsible for importing the 1,950 affected vehicles has “learned and paid utmost attention to the legal action”, although it has yet to receive the indictment from the court, a Volkswagen spokeswoman said in a written statement.
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VW sold 263,797 new vehicles in the European Union last month, a 4.1-percent sales increase over the same period a year earlier, while BMW shifted roughly 73,000 units and Daimler 67,000 units in the same month.
Volkswagen will shed about 600 temporary workers at a factory in Zwickau, Germany next year as it battles to cope with the fallout from its cheating of diesel emissions tests, labour representatives at the carmaker said.
The authorities picked up the issue after EIB chief Werner Hoyer said in October the lender was looking into the loans itself in light of the emissions scandal.
“This is the first case of public- interest litigation against vehicle pollution, and for us it is only the beginning”, said Ma Yong of the Beijing-based group.
His NGO will accuse Volkswagen of violating Chinese laws on product quality, environmental protection and tort liability, its lawyer told the China Daily newspaper.
Volkswagen delivery in China has declined since the start of the scandal.
The company said last week that worldwide sales of all of its 12 different brands were down 2.2% in November.
That meant it was time to cheat, and continue cheating until the automaker was caught in 2015. The Chinese automobile sector got hit owing to the sluggish demand in the world’s biggest auto sector.
Its sales still edged upwards but by less than its rivals.
The surge in vehicle sales was primarily driven by tax reduction. The auto manufacturers found it hard to survive in the economy of dwindling consumer spending.
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As for Volkswagen, the lawsuit from the local environmental group is just another lawsuit it would have to deal with, as part of the major fallout from the diesel emissions scandal. Currently, Volkswagen China has released a recall plan and is developing related technical solutions.
