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In addition to its observations, findings and outlines of possible solutions on the EA 189 engines to the Government of India and ARAI, Volkswagen Group India has also presented its reasons for why it believes that its cars are not equipped with the infamous 'defeat device'. Interestingly, VW says the findings from the evaluations undertaken by the group under the observation of ARAI show that the tested Volkswagen, Skoda, and Audi cars do not violate the Bharat Stage IV (BS IV) emission norms in India.
Volkswagen hopes to come to an agreement with the Indian government over the scandal and will also meet the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for the resolution of this impasse.
As far as the government's stance about the scandal is concerned, Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, said a committee of experts from IIT will be established to look into Volkswagen's emission-test cheating case. He said, "Road transport ministry will be forming a committee of IIT experts. The committee will be tasked to analyse and understand the VW issue and submit the findings to the ministry."
Mr Gadkari further explained, "The committee will be formed in a day or two and findings will be submitted within a month or two. Any decision will be taken after that."
Volkswagen Recall in India
While the existing software does not affect the handling, technical safety or the roadworthiness of the affected cars, the VW Group has already issued a voluntary recall of all cars with EA 189 engines in India. All the customers affected by the recall will be informed directly by the respective brands. The technical updates are expected to be implemented from the first quarter of 2016 and will be continued in a step-wise manner.
Here's a summary of how the affected engines will be fixed:
a. 2.0-litre engines will get a software update
b. 1.5-litre and 1.6-litre engines will be fitted with a 'flow transformer' in front of the air mass sensor and will also receive a software update
c. A fix for the affected 1.2-litre engines is yet to be announced
One must note that despite the recall, Volkswagen will continue the production and sales of the cars with EA 189 engines in India.
