Further action on Volkswagen after written response from company

Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete on Thursday said Volkswagen has admitted its cars do not comply with India's emission norms, and action will follow after written undertaking from the company. This is in variance with what the company has claimed.

"They have (Volkswagen) said that they do not comply. They are also giving this in writing. We will take further action after that," the minister said at Auto Expo here, after visiting the exhibits of the German automaker here.

"We have already asked them to recall the vehicles. When we will get a response in writing, we will propose further action," he said.

Geete's comments come a day after Volkswagen apologised for the emissions fiasco at the Auto Fair but said their assessment was that the cars complied with the emission norms. Yet, it assured it was voluntarily recalling the vehicles to win back people's trust.

"Volkswagen made some big mistakes," Jurgen Stackmann, board member for passenger cars overseeing sales and marketing, said. "I'm truly sorry for that. I assure you that we are committed to set things right. We want to win back the trust in our brand."

He said the company was aware of the anxiety in the minds of those who owned the German car.

"We have examined the issue very carefully under the observation of the authorities. We came to the conclusion that our cars fully comply with Indian emission standards. However, winning back the trust means more for us than just obeying the law," Stackmann added.

Thus far, the company has decided to recall 323,700 vehicles of Audi, Skoda and Volkswagen.