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The government has issued a showcause notice to the Volkswagen Group due to discrepancies in emission levels recorded on-road and in laboratory conditions on three of its diesel models in India — Volkswagen Jetta, Volkswagen Vento and Audi A4 — senior officials informed on Wednesday.
A senior official in the Ministry of Heavy Industries said, “ARAI (Automotive Research Association of India) has found significant variations in the emissions level in on-road vehicles as compared to the laboratory measurements. We have issued a notice to Volkswagen Group of companies today (Wednesday) to give technical inputs and explain their position.”
Significant variations in the emission levels have been found in diesel vehicles belonging to the Jetta, Audi A4 and Vento models. “We have given them (Volkswagen) 2-3 weeks to reply to the notice. We are expecting a reply from them by month-end, with detailed technical inputs from their headquarters in Germany,” the official added.
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Volkswagen, in a statement, said, “VW Group India confirms that it has received a notice from ARAI and will respond to the same by November 30, 2015.”
The findings are a part of the report submitted to the Ministry of Heavy Industries by ARAI on Tuesday. ARAI had earlier initiated an enquiry into VW’s emissions standards in India post the controversy on the issue globally. If proved of any wrongdoing in India, Volkswagen may have to face criminal proceedings, fine and recall of vehicles.
Volkswagen has admitted cheating in emissions tests on around 11 million diesel vehicles globally. The scandal has pushed Volkswagen to report its first quarterly loss in at least 15 years.
