India on Thursday ordered a probe into whether Volkswagen (VW) has flouted emission norms in the country.
“We have written, requested ARAI to look into the applicability of the matter”, the daily paper quoted an unnamed government official as saying.
Last week, United States regulators had found that the cars made by the company had a “defeat device” software installed in the engine to reduce emission during tests.
ARAI Director Rashmi Urdhwareshe said it has sought details from Volkswagen and was awaiting their response When asked if ARAI would pick up random samples to test, she said: “We are yet to decide on that”. A spokesman at the Transport Ministry was not immediately reachable for a comment.
“We have asked ARAI to investigate the matter and submit a report by Wednesday (September 30)”, Union Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete told PTI on the sidelines of IEEMA annual convention here.
When contacted, a Volkswagen India spokesperson declined to comment, stating “the investigations are still running”. It is now facing investigations in the USA, South Korea, France, Italy, Canada, Germany and the UK. Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) also said Friday that it is making enquires “to determine if consumers might have been exposed to misleading claims”, Reuters reported.
In the wake of the scandal in the U.S., the embattled CEO of Volkswagen, Martin Winterkorn, stepped down yesterday.
The German auto major had admitted to the irregularities concerning software used in diesel engines in “some 11 million vehicles worldwide”. The cars could detect emission control tests and lower their emission levels.
The detection of high emissions from Volkswagen diesel cars have snowballed into one of the biggest frauds in the history of automobiles, which has risen an alarm bell among the policy makers in India.
