April 19, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] The Korean government on Aug. 29 approved Audi and Volkswagen’s proposed recall plans to fix vehicles that cheated on emissions tests, two years after the outbreak of the diesel scandal in 2015 that led to a sales ban. 

The Ministry of Environment said it gave a green light to Audi Volkswagen Korea, the local unit of the German brand, to recall some 82,290 cars of the nine models, which include VW’s Passat, CC, Golf, Jetta, The Beetle and Scirocco, and Audi’s A4, A5 and A6, that were fitted with problematic EA189 engine -- equipped with cheating software.

The recall is set to begin on Sept. 25, the local unit said.

It will send out letters explaining the recall procedures and schedule to all the customers of the affected vehicles. The recall, which includes software update to meet the emissions standard, is free of charge and will take about 30 minutes. The company will provide vehicle pick-up and drop-off services, as well as financial assistance to customers who have to take public transportation to visit the service center.

The nine models are among the 125,222 cars the Korean government ordered VW to recall in November 2015 after the German auto giant admitted to manipulating emissions devices globally. The local unit was slapped with a fine of 14.1 billion won (US$12.50 million) as well.

When combining the latest measure, about 87 percent of all vehicles with the defect engine have received approval by the government to go ahead with a recall, according to the firm. Earlier in January, the ministry approved the first set of VW’s recall plan for 27,000 Tiguan SUVs, after previously rejecting the proposal three times.

The ministry is reviewing the recall proposal for the remaining 16,000 vehicles.

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