VW Group Kept on Selling New Cars Even After the Diesel Gate Scandal
Volkswagen has admitted that it was still selling new cars in the UK fitted with “defeat devices” to cheat diesel emissions tests even after US authorities uncovered the scandal. The latest revelation piles pressure on the German carmaker and adds insult to injury for consumers.
VW admitted that it kept on selling cars until last Wednesday even though it was undergoing an investigation. The group has also suspended the sale of 4,000 new vehicles in the UK due to fears that they contained the same software used to deceive testing procedures in the US.
VW spokesman said it did not know how many affected cars had been sold during the period but that it “regrets” that customers had bought them and would now have to get their vehicles fixed. Customers who are in the process of buying an affected car will be able to pull out or choose another VW vehicle.
The spokesman said it had “taken time” to identify affected vehicles. The 4,000 cars, which represent about 3% of the car group’s UK stock, cover the VW, Audi, Skoda and Seat brands. They are fitted with the same EA 189 EU5 engine that is in the 1.2m vehicles that the company recalled on Wednesday. Volkswagen will continue to sell unaffected cars, which includes those fitted with the new EU6 engine.
Earlier on Thursday, the former UK science minister Lord Drayson admitted that the Labour government’s support for diesel cars had been a mistake and warned that diesel cars were “literally killing people”.
He called for a new diesel car scrappage scheme to encourage owners to trade them in for cleaner models. However, the car industry launched a robust defence of diesel engines and its practices. The company has set aside €6.5bn (£4.8bn) to fix the affected cars. However, it also faces penalties in the US that could total $18bn (£11.bn), while British law firms say they have been inundated with enquiries from VW drivers about making claims.
Volkswagen has already slowed production at one of its biggest engine factories and frozen hiring at its finance unit, which offers loans to buy new cars.
