National Green Tribunal Issues Notice to Government and Volkswagen

Several thousands of Volkswagen Group vehicles have been found to have flouted emission norms around the world by using a cheating device called the "defect device" which gauges that it is in testing environment and lowers emissions. However, in real-life driving situations, the car cranks up its engines and operates at full capacity for maximum performance.

The scandal was first revealed when Volkswagen admitted to its misdoings on September 18, after the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) pulled it up after detailed investigations.

Also Read: Volkswagen May Recall 1,00,000 Cars in India

In India, the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) found a significant variation in the emission level in on-road vehicles compared to laboratory measurements. Earlier, on November 4, the government was expected to issue a show cause notice to the Volkswagen Group. The Ministry of Heavy Industries had written a letter to the ARAI back in September to find out whether Volkswagen is selling the same models in India that have been found violating U.S. rules.

Under the Indian regulation, Euro IV standards apply only for vehicles sold in 50 cities while Euro III standards apply in rest of the country. Last month, the German auto major reportedly recalled nearly one lakh cars in the country under the diesel car emissions scandal. Prior to this it had also recalled its premium cars which included 389 units of its best-selling premium hatchback Polo in India.

Volkswagen's luxury flagship Audi on Thursday, November 26, 2015, suspended two engineers after its larger diesel engines were found evading emissions limits in the United States, Audi CEO Rupert Stadler said.

Amid the scandal, Volkswagen India has announced an India-spec sub-compact sedan with an investment of Rs 720 crore. The company has quite a few cars that it wants to introduce in the country and the first to come from its stable will be the Beetle, which will go up for sale in December this year. Following this, the company will showcase their sub-compact sedan at the 2016 Delhi Auto Expo after which the premium SUV Tiguan will make its way into the market.

The scandal might have been a sort of dark cloud looming over the company but they're clearly on track for their plans in India and even plan to expand the plant capacity by 2018.