Volkswagen will recall and upgrade all its Indian cars in a phased manner to bring them in line with European emission standards starting in the first half of 2016, the company said on Tuesday at the unveiling of its first sub-4 metre sedan, Ameo.
New models The troubled German auto giant would launch four new car models, including the Ameo, in the next 18 months. The other three models include the Euro-VI compliant Polo GTI, the eighth edition of the Passat and the Tiguan, Volkswagen’s first offering for the SUV segment in India.
The group had announced the recall across its three brands in India — Audi, Skoda and Volkswagen — following a government probe that found the company had used a device to cheat emission tests in its diesel engines.
“In the 1.2 litre engine category, it will be a mere update on the engine management software and in the 1.5 litre engine category, we will have to change the air straightener,” Volkswagen Passenger Cars India Director Michael Mayer told reporters on the sidelines of a launch function for the company’s compact sedan Ameo. The company hopes a bulk of the recall and upgradation will be done within 2016 itself, but acknowledges that the number of cars in India makes that target tough to meet, Mr. Mayer said.
“But definitely we would like to do the majority of the cars in 2016,” he added.
This follows a big scandal in the U.S. and Europe following the Environment Protection Agency finding that a large number of Volkswagen cars in the U.S. were equipped with this duping mechanism. Later, the company admitted that about 11 million cars worldwide were equipped with the device.
“Today is a very special day for Volkswagen in India, as we unveil our first ever made-for-India carline, Volkswagen Ameo.
The compact sedan segment continues to garner much interest among Indian consumers and we are happy to mark our presence in this competitive and dynamic segment,” Mr. Mayer said.
