[THE INVESTOR] The Ministry of Environment said on July 11 that it will ban sales and cancel certification of approximately 150,000 disputed Volkswagen models sold here, if the suspected cheating on its authentication tests is proven.
The ministry said Monday that it has received from the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office a list of 32 types of diesel and gasoline models of Volkswagen vehicles -- including the VW Golf and Audi A8 – that are suspected to have fabricated reports submitted to the National Institute of Environmental Research.
The decision follows the prosecution’s investigation earlier this year on suspicions the company had forged test results for its vehicles’ noise-level, fuel efficiency and emissions to receive authentication.
If the German carmaker’s alleged irregularities turn out to be true, up to 60 percent of a total of 250,000 Volkswagen vehicles sold here since 2007 will be affected, industry insiders predicted.
“We are currently reviewing the list of disputed models and sorting out which models need to be kicked out. But we do not know exactly how many vehicles will be affected,” said an official of transportation policy at the Environment Ministry.
The ministry also plans to hear an explanation from Volkswagen Korea
Volkswagen AG’s Korean unit has been the center of criticism for not following the ministry’s earlier recall order.
Last November, the ministry had ordered the recall and suspended sales on 126,000 vehicles of 15 Volkswagen models -- including Tiguan, the best-selling foreign car here in 2015 -- for emissions manipulation.
Following the order, Volkswagen AG’s Korean unit had submitted recall measures in January, March and June, but these were all rejected by the ministry for insufficient information without details on improvement on emissions.
The ministry said the company did not admit to using a defeat device to trick emissions test.
On Friday, former Volkswagen Korea managing director Park Dong-hoon was summoned again for questioning regarding emissions rigging. Park reportedly argued that he had no authority to give such orders.
