ARAI begins probing Volkswagen cars in India

In the wake of the scandal surrounding the emission of Volkswagen’s diesel-powered cars, ARAI has decided to investigate if Volkswagen has used defeat device to cheat emission tests in India. The automotive testing agency has been directed by the government to carry on the probe and ARAI has sought details from the German car manufacturer on this matter.

Rashmi Urdhwareshe, Director, ARAI has stated that the automotive testing agency has sought details from Volkswagen and are awaiting their response. The top official also revealed that the testing agency will work as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Heavy Industries. Volkswagen has chosen to remain tight-lipped on this matter.

The German carmaker has admitted that 1.1 crore cars across the world were fitted with the defeat device to deceive the emission tests. It is now facing investigations in the US, South Korea, France, Italy, Canada, Germany and the UK.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States accused Volkswagen and Audi of using ‘defeat device’ or an illegal software in approximately 4.8 lakh vehicles for cheating official emission tests.

According to the findings of the EPA, the defeat device could automatically detect when the cars were undergoing an emissions test and change the way the engine behaved automatically. Post the test, the car went back into normal driving mode for day to day usage patterns, thus emitting NOX up to 40 times above the permitted levels.