Government bans sales of 32 Volkswagen models

Government bans sales of 32 Volkswagen models. August. 03, 2016 07:59. by 임현석기자, 이은택 lhs@donga.com,기자nabi@donga.com.

Volkswagen is at the crossroads as the government has announced a sales ban. The Environment Ministry on Tuesday cancelled certification for 32 types of Volkswagen vehicles as their test results were forged. This affected 83,000 vehicles, 80 models, and popular car Golf 2.0 TDI has been banned from sale. A penalty totaling 17.8 billion won (16.1 million U.S. dollars) will be charged to the German carmaker’s local unit for falsifying certification documents on fuel efficiency and emissions for 24 models. Not only controversial diesel cars but also 14 gasoline types were also included. In addition, a recall decision has been made on three models of Audi A5 Sportback Review 35 TDI Quattro.

"Volkswagen's tricks and false certification are a severe illegal act that shakes the very fundamentals of our government's vehicle certification system," the ministry said. "The certification cancellation and penalty are imposed on Audi Volkswagen, and owners of existing cars are without restrictions on owning and selling their cars."

Volkswagen is now positioned in a situation where it has to choose whether to directly confront by filing for administrative litigation and applying for suspension of execution, or to accept the government's measures and receive recertification. Volkswagen Korea released a statement through its website and repeated their apologies, but added that the company regretted the strictest possible penalty. A VW staff said "We will take due follow-up measures, including legal steps by closely discussing the content of the ministry's measures."