VW India to submit emissions scandal report to government by end-Nov

By Aditi Shah

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG's Indian unit said on Thursday it was still assessing the impact of the emissions scandal at the German carmaker on vehicles produced and sold in India and would submit a report to the government by the end of November.

The next steps will depend on the findings from these evaluations, Volkswagen Group India said in a statement.

Earlier on Thursday, television channel CNBC-TV18 reported, citing sources, that Volkswagen was likely to recall 100,000 cars in the country affected by the diesel emissions scandal.

A decision on any recall is yet to be made, a Volkswagen India spokesman told Reuters.

"Since there is a complex combination of several brands, various models, different engine variants and gearboxes as well as different model years that need to be analysed, establishing detailed facts is taking a longer time," the company said in its statement.

Europe's biggest carmaker has admitted cheating U.S. diesel emissions tests and that up to around 11 million vehicles worldwide could contain illegal software - the biggest business crisis in its 78-year history.

The scandal has pushed Volkswagen to report its first quarterly loss in at least 15 years, forced out its long-time chief executive and sent shockwaves through the global car industry.

Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), the country's testing agency, has been investigating whether Volkswagen cars have flouted emission norms in India.

ARAI has submitted its interim report on the investigation to the government, the agency's director Rashmi Urdhwareshe told Reuters on Thursday. She did not disclose any details, saying the report was confidential.

A recall in India, expected to happen before Nov. 8, would mostly affect cars fitted with engines that have been imported and would also include 20,000 diesel vehicles made in the country, CNBC-TV18 reported.

This would impact Vento, Jetta and Passat sedan cars, Polo hatchbacks and Polo Cross crossovers in India, the channel said.

(Reporting by Aditi Shah; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier and Mark Potter)