South Korea to Fine VW Units Over Emissions-Software Manipulation
August 20 2019 - 7:43AM
Dow Jones News
By Kwanwoo Jun
South Korea's government is set to fine two of German car maker
Volkswagen AG's (VOW.XE) local subsidiaries after finding that
anti-emissions software in over 10,000 of their cars was illegally
manipulated.
Audi Volkswagen Korea and Porsche Korea face a total of nearly
12 billion won ($9.9 million) in potential fines.
Audi Volkswagen Korea could be penalized up to KRW7.90 billion
and Porsche Korea KRW4.00 billion, and both will be criminally
charged and ordered to fix the defects, according to a statement
from the environment ministry on Tuesday.
Effective from Wednesday, the certifications for eight
diesel-powered models that were found to contain the illegally
manipulated software will be revoked, the ministry said. The
revocations apply to 10,261 units imported or sold in the country
since 2014, it said.
At the core of the issue is software related to AdBlue, a fluid
injected into a car's exhaust system to neutralize harmful nitrogen
oxides, the ministry said. The software was illegally programmed to
reduce the amount of the liquid sprayed into the system when it
runs out, allowing for 10 times more polluting gases to be released
into the air than usual, it said.
Volkswagen, the world's largest car maker by sales, has spent
nearly four years trying to put its diesel scandal behind it after
admitting in 2015 to having rigged some 11 million vehicles
worldwide with software that allowed them to dodge emissions tests.
Since then, the company and its subsidiaries have had to pay more
than $25 billion in fines and settlement costs.
The models that are set to have their certifications revoked in
South Korea are the Audi A6 40 TDI Quattro, two Audi A6 50 TDI
Quattro models, two Audi A7 50 TDI Quattro models, Volkswagen
Touareg V6 3.0 TDI BMT, Volkswagen's Touareg 3.0 TDI 4 Motion and
the Porsche Cayenne.
Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 20, 2019 07:28 ET (11:28 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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