Only 30% of recalled diesel vehicles rectified so far: VW

Over a year into the exercise, German auto major Volkswagen has been able to rectify only 30 per cent of the 3.4 lakh recalled diesel vehicles it had equipped with defeat device that helped cheat emission tests in India.

Volkswagen Group India said the process has been delayed as it involves different brands, engines and models.

The company's headquarter has so far given approval for engine updates that cover almost 70 per cent of the vehicles which have been recalled in India.

Overall, by the end of last month, 30 per cent of the entire lot of vehicles that is eligible for the update has been covered, a Volkswagen Group India Spokesperson said. In December 2015, the group had announced recall of 3.4 lakh vehicles in India across its different brands, including Audi, Volkswagen and Skoda, sold from 2008 till end of November 2015.

A government-ordered probe had found the automaker's EA 189 diesel engines were equipped with a defeat device that helped it cheat on emission tests. The company last year announced plans to update the engines of the recalled vehicles.

On the slow progress of update, the spokesperson said several brands, various markets and models, different engine variants and gearboxes and various model years had to be considered while developing the updates. The technical measures were being defined and developed by Volkswagen Group at the headquarters in Germany.

"Once they were approved by the authorities in Germany, these updates were tested by the Indian authorities. All of this has been a lengthy process and that caused a delay," the spokesperson added.

The updates are tested by ARAI and only after their approval are they rolled out to customers. Final two approvals for updates are currently in the pipeline and are expected to be received in few days.