Dieselgate: ARAI Won't Retest VW Cars After Recall

  • Sep 28, 2016
  • Views : 3514
  • 2 min read

  • bookmark

Volkswagen has been under the scanner since the emissions scandal that was unearthed in the US last year

Volkswagen Grille

Volkswagen AG is one of the biggest automotive firms in the world. Headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany, it owns many renowned automotive marques such as Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Audi and Skoda. While this list is impressive and says a lot about VW’s presence in the automotive industry, just about everything went for a toss when the German automaker was found guilty of claiming inaccurate emission figures.

Last week, VW started a voluntary recall in India with the Skoda Superb. Once done, the German automotive group will recall Audi and VW cars - carrying the same faulty EA-189 diesel engine as the Superb - to fix the emissions issue.

Following this development, the ARAI (Automotive Research Authority of India) said that it will not retest the fixed VW cars that return to the roads after the company completes the recall process since that is beyond its regulatory purview. Rashmi Urdhwareshe, director, ARAI said, “Retesting of cars will be carried out only to verify the regulatory conformance. Real driving emission measurement is not a part of the regulations."

Volkswagen TDI Engine

VW in India has maintained that its cars meet Indian regulatory requirements as defined under Bharat Stage-IV (BS-IV) guidelines. Despite that, VW claims that it wants to fix the cars here with same update that was rolled out in Europe. Unlike in the US, where on-road tests are conducted to check the emissions of cars, India doesn’t have that regulation under the BS-IV norms. From April 1, 2020, however, India will migrate to BS-VI norms, which will be on par with the laws instated in the Western world.

Last year, the ARAI found that certain VW cars fitted with the EZ-189 diesel engine produced 5 to 9 times more nitrogen oxide on road than during the standard laboratory tests. But since on-road tests aren’t a part of the conformity of production (COP) guidelines in India, the government could not prosecute the German carmaker. In the US however, were emission laws are much more stringent than in India, VW cars powered by the same diesel engine were observed to be producing in excess of 40 times the VW-claimed emissions.

See what our community has to say! NEW

India's largest automotive community

Explore Now
comminity image
×
Recently Visited
Select Category