Volkswagen to start 1.98 lakh recalls this year

A total of 323,700 cars of Volkswagen, SkodaAuto and Audi were to be recalled under a decision announced December last year

German auto giant Volkswagen will formally kick start recalling 198,500 cars in the country next month to fix emission software.

This recall is the same that was announced by the company in December last year wherein a total of 323,700 cars were to be recalled under three brands, Volkswagen, SkodaAuto (88,700 cars) and Audi (36,500 cars). 

Recalls are done for models with 1.2-litre, 1.5-litre, 1.6-litre, and 2.0-litre EA 189 diesel engines that were manufactured and sold between 2008 and November 2015.

"Starting from the second half of 2016, Volkswagen will recall 1.90 lakh cars and continue till ten months," Volkswagen India head of marketing Kamal Basu said to PTI in Kolkata.

A formal start of the recall process, however, got delayed as requisite approvals had to be sought from VW’s headquarters in Germany and Indian authorities.

According to Volkswagen, the 2.0-litre diesel engine will only need a software upgrade, while the 1.6-litre EA 189 diesel engine will be subject to a hardware and software fix.

Starting from July, communication would be sent to the customers regarding this and also to make them understand that the recall was purely voluntary in nature, Basu added.

The company denied using a defeat device in its cars sold in India unlike in the US and Europe where 11 million diesel-powered cars are believed to use a emission cheating device.  

However, Union Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete said in February that Volkswagen admitted that it used a device in its Indian cars that allowed it to report two types of emissions, violating industry norms. 

India’s premier research and testing agency Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) had conducted random checks on Volkswagen cars which gave out emissions that were nine times higher than required.

The minister’s comment came after an investigation report was submitted to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways by the ARAI.

In April VW suspended sales of 1.5 litre manual diesel variant of the of the Vento sedan over inconsistent emission and decided to recall 3,877 units of the car in India. Skoda followed suit to stop sales of Rapid sedan on similar concerns. 

Jurgen Stackmann, board member for sales and marketing, Volkswagen Passenger Cars had apologised for wrongdoings in India during his visit in February.

"Volkswagen made some big mistakes and I am truly sorry and apologise to our customers, the authorities of this country and our dealers," Stackmann said before the unveiling of the compact sedan Ameo. Geete, however had said action should be taken against the company.