South Korea orders recall of 1,25,500 Volkswagen cars

Seoul, Nov 26: South Korea said on Thursday it had ordered Volkswagen to recall 125,500 diesel vehicles, after tests confirmed the German automaker had faked emissions results from the cars' engines.

Announcing the results of the tests, the Environment Ministry also said it was fining the company 14.1 billion won (USD 12.3 million).

Volkswagen should submit its detailed recall plans including how to improve emissions of the cars in question to the ministry by January 6, it said in a statement.

The vehicles were mostly those sold in South Korea between 2008 and 2015, and included Tiguan, Golf and Beetle models equipped with the EA189 diesel engine.

Bumper stickers identifying recalled and readjusted cars will be made obligatory to ensure consumers comply with the recall as early as possible, the ministry said.

One of the world's biggest carmakers, Volkswagen has admitted that up to 11 million diesel cars worldwide are fitted with devices that can switch on pollution controls when they detect it is undergoing testing.

They then switch off the controls when the car is on the road, allowing it to spew out harmful levels of emissions.

Thousands of South Korean owners of Volkswagen models have joined a class-action lawsuit against the German automaker, demanding cancellation of their purchase or full refunds.

The Environment Ministry in Seoul had conducted tests on six models sold by Volkswagen and its high-end Audi brand.

The ministry said the government would expand the probe to 16 other local and foreign automakers that sell diesel cars in the country to ensure they were not employing similar methods to cheat on emissions standards.

The companies include South Korea's Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia Motors, as well as BMW, Mercedez, Porsche, Volvo, Peugeot and Ford. The tests are scheduled to be completed by the end of April next year.

AFP