April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Audi Volkswagen Korea is preparing to release a new diesel car in Korea for the first time since the emissions cheating scandal erupted last year, denting its sales, according to the Korean unit of the German automaker on Jan. 13. 

“The 2017 A7 55 TDI Quattro has received emissions and noise level certification by the Environment Ministry. The car still has to be registered with the Transportation Ministry, and once that is completed, we will be able to sell the car,” an official of Audi VW Korea told The Investor. 

The automaker said the exact launch date is undecided, but according to industry sources, the car will be ready to hit the market as early as late January. 

If launched, the A7 diesel sedan will be the first new car to be introduced here by the Korean unit since the emissions-rigging scandal broke. In August last year, the ministry revoked certification and halted sales of 80 models of Audi, VW and Bentley vehicles, in addition to imposing hefty fines on the automaker for manipulating emissions and noise level tests to win sales approval. 

The automaker said it is working with the environment ministry officials to get the affected cars recertified to resume sales here. 

Separately, the Ministry of Environment on Jan. 12 approved VW’s stalled recall plan to fix 27,000 Tiguan sport utility vehicles to meet the emissions standards, after previously rejecting the proposals three times. 

The Tiguan vehicles are among the 125,522 cars the Korean government ordered VW to recall in November 2015 after it admitted to manipulating emissions devices globally. 

The ministry will review the remaining 99,000 vehicles for a recall.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)