April 18, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Audi Volkswagen Korea has sent some 2,500 vehicles back to the headquarters from its inventory for over a year amid the emissions-rigging scandal, according to media reports on April 10.

The local unit of the German automaker shipped back 1,300 Audi and VW diesel models from the carmaker’s pre-delivery inspection center in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. An aditional 1,200 cars will be shipped to Emden Port in the country this month.

The automaker sent some 1,500 cars including, Audi A1, A3 and Volkswagen Golf, to Germany last month.

The diesel cars were shipped from Germany more than a year ago waiting to be delivered to local showrooms, until the sales of most Audi and VW cars were halted in Aug. last year, after the automaker was found guilty of cheating on emissions test results.

There are still around 13,000 affected vehicles parked in the Pyeongtaek warehouse, that will either be shipped back to Germany or sold at discounted prices once the recertification process is cleared.

According to industry sources, the Korean unit will most likely send back the remaining cars to Germany as the recertification process will take a while.

Last week, three Bentley models that were banned from sales amid the diesel scandal earned recertification from the Environment Ministry.

It is the first time for the German automaker to receive recertification approval from the Korean government since the scandal broke last year. In August, the ministry revoked certification and halted sales of 32 models of Audi, VW and Bentley vehicles, in addition to imposing hefty fines for manipulating emissions and noise level test results, to win sales approval.

The government officials have started the recertification process of other Audi and VW cars as well, although the final date for getting approval is unclear.

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