Volkswagen announces fixes for its “Dieselgate” cars

  • Nov 25, 2015
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Car manufacturer Volkswagen, which has been embroiled in a scandal involving its cars’ emissions, will now take corrective measures to fix its faulty engine software, according to CEO Matthias Müller.

VW CEO Matthias Müller

Briefing about the steps that will be taken as a part of the corrective process, Müller reportedly said that Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority has signed off on a software update to fix vehicles carrying the affected 2-litre diesel engines that were installed with the cheating software. The regulator has also given the “basic go” to a fix for the 1.6-litre vehicles that will involve replacing an air filter cartridge and grill. Details are yet to be finalised on a software fix for 1.2-litre motors.

Although the costs that the German manufacturer will have to bear in order to implement these fixes have not been specified, Müller informed that the company will be able to go ahead with it. “The efforts (needed) to carry out the refits are technically, mechanically and financially manageable,” he said.

Of the over 11 million units programmed to cheat on emissions tests, almost 8.5 million are in Europe, while about 5,00,000 are in the United States. Around 90% vehicles in Europe will be covered in VW’s deal with the European powers that be.

In excess of 1,00,000 cars have been affected in India but there has been no word on the same by the company’s officials in the country till now. Reports suggest that VW India might just escape the consequences of “dieselgate” because of the country’s struggle to implement Bharat IV (equivalent to Euro 4) across its expanses.

The Volkswagen logo as seen in Wolfsburg, Germany

Sales of VW’s mass market brands took a hit last month, as Seat fell 11.2%, Skoda declined 2.9% and the key VW brand slipped by 0.4%. However, VW’s premium brands – Audi and Porsche – appear to have been untouched by the scandal, with sales shooting up 3.5% and 13.3% respectively.

Because car deliveries typically occur several weeks after purchase decisions, the full repercussions of the scandal, which started with VW’s admission on 18 September that diesel engine emission tests had been rigged, are expected to reflect more prominently in the data for November.

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