CANBERRA: Volkswagen Australia has confirmed more than 77,000 diesel cars sold in Australia are fitted with emissions-rigging software. The company says owners of the affected models do not need to take any action until a technical solution is made available by its head office in Germany.
Almost 55,000 passenger vehicles including post-2009 Golf and Polo models have the EA 189 diesel engines at the centre of the worldwide scandal, along with more than 17,000 commercial vehicles and just over 5,000 Skoda cars. Volkswagen Australia has set up a website for customers to see if their cars have the affected diesel engines after being notified by its head office.
Its managing director, John White, said in a statement: “Volkswagen Group Australia takes this issue extremely seriously and is continuing to gather all the facts from our head office to support any rectification plans in Australia. “We understand the disappointment and frustration felt by our customers, dealers and partners in Australia and apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.”
“It is important for customers to note that all affected vehicles remain technically safe and driveable and that we will contact them in time to advise what the next steps are.” Confirmation of Australia’s inclusion in the worldwide emissions cheating scandal comes more than two weeks after it first broke.
The world’s biggest carmaker by sales, Volkswagen has admitted fitting 11 million vehicles with so-called defeat devices that switch the engine to a low-emissions mode during testing, allowing the car to exceed emissions regulations during normal operation.
The global scam has forced chief executive Martin Winterkorn to resign, and his successor Matthias Mueller has set aside € 6.5bn (AU$10.3bn) to fix the affected vehicles.
