Not concerned about Volkswagen emission scandal in US, says Gadkari

New Delhi: The government today said it is not ‘concerned’ about the emission cheating scandal involving German auto major Volkswagen in the US but is closely watching the developments.

“I feel it is not a concern for India right now. That is a US development. We are watching reports on the development,” Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari told reporters here.

Volkswagen (VW) had admitted to irregularities concerning a particular software used in diesel engines in “some eleven million vehicles worldwide”.

Last Friday, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accused VW of installing illegal software to cheat emissiontests in diesel cars.

The company has been ordered by the US government to recall 4.82 lakh cars of VW and Audi brands produced since 2009. The company faces a fine of up to USD 18 billion.

In India, the company sells a range of models, including premium hatchback Polo, mid-sized sedan Vento and executive sedan Jetta. Another group firm Audi too sells a range of models here.

So far the company is tight lipped on whether any of the cars sold in India had used the particular software used in diesel engines.

Yesterday the German auto major had said “to cover the necessary service measures and other efforts to win back the trust of our customers, Volkswagen plans to set aside a provision of some 6.5 billion euros recognised in the profit and loss statement in the third quarter of the current fiscal year.”

Admitting the company’s mistakes, VW Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn had said on Sunday he was “deeply sorry that we have broken the trust of our customers and the public” and ordered an external investigation into the matter.

PTI