In India, the 1.5-litre turbodiesel Polo and Vento use the Type EA 189 engine. Volkswagen AG has said that the affected vehicles in the US and elsewhere use this engine only.
German carmaker Volkswagen AG on Friday admitted to using a software on its diesel cars which help it cheat on the stringent emissions test in the US, to comply with the norms.
Once the US Environmental Protection Agency revealed that Volkswagen had been using this technology to forge a lower emission count, VW has said that over 11 million cars around the world are fitted with what is called the 'defeat device', which would temporarily lower emissions when it detected that it was being inspected. Emissions would then return to a much higher level, allowing the car to perform better when driven.
Volkswagen is the world's largest carmaker in terms of sales, crossing Toyota's figures early in the year.
Amid a mixed trend for the automobile sector so far this year, Volkswagen India has registered an increase in sales for seven straight months. It registered a 17% growth in sales year-to-date in August, which is only set to increase on the back of the upcoming festive season.
In India, the company sells cars like the premium hatchback Polo, Polo GT, Cross Polo, the new Vento sedan, and the Jetta.
ALSO READ: How did Volkswagen dupe millions of car owners, flout stringent US norms?
A press release from Volkswagen AG says, “Discrepancies relate to vehicles with Type EA 189 engines, involving some eleven million vehicles worldwide.
“A noticeable deviation between bench test results and actual road use was established solely for this type of engine.”
In India, the 1.5-litre turbodiesel Polo and the Vento use the Type EA 189 engines. However, Volkswagen India said, "have no confirmation whether the India cars are affected or not."
It is important to note that US is Euro VI compliant, while India is still Euro IV compliant.
Concerned VW diesel car owners in India have been calling the dealerships to find out if their cars are vulnerable to this scam. dna spoke to atleast four different dealerships in Mumbai, who admitted, on the condition of anonymity, that they had received calls from concerned customers, especially new owners.
However, the dealerships were quick to address the concern. One VW dealership staff said, “It's all happening in the US. It's not a concern for India.” He later added that US has strict emission norms and Euro VI compliant, while India is still Euro IV compliant."
Roads and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, however, has said, “I feel it is not a concern for India right now. That is a US development. We are watching reports on the development.
Till the company says more, Volkswagen's India customers will just have to wait and watch.
(With inputs from ZEEGNITION)
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