Regulator to conduct further tests on VW vehicles

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So far, all Volkswagen SA (VWSA) has said officially is that cars sold in SA have met local emissions standards. All questions have been referred to head office in Germany, which is not any more forthcoming than in SA.

While VWSA - based in Uitenhage, in the Eastern Cape - has stayed silent, tax and standards authorities have released statements saying they will investigate potential emissions rules breached.

Gavin Maile, automotive industry specialist at KPMG in Johannesburg, says VWSA "needs to respond" to quell growing negative publicity. Now that the international VW brand has been proven to be dishonest, there is bound to be an effect on sales and confidence in SA, he says.

But he adds: "If VWSA can reassure the market, any local damage to its standing should not be lasting."

VWSA builds Polo and Vivo cars for domestic and export customers, and imports the rest of its products. It is not clear what effect the scandal will have on VW brand sales in VWSA export markets such as the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, and, therefore, on Uitenhage production.

Cars imported into SA include the Jetta, Golf, Beetle and Audi A3, whose diesel versions were found to be breaking emissions rules in the US. Also implicated was the latest Passat, which VWSA was due to launch locally next month. It is not known if the local range will include a diesel model.

VW in Germany has admitted that 11-million vehicles worldwide have been fitted with a device that recognises when the engine is being tested for emissions and reduces the output of nitrogen oxide accordingly.

SA's National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) said late last week all vehicles sold by VWSA had complied with local emissions rules.

However, there is growing evidence that not only was VW cheating in emissions tests overseas, but that regulators in Europe and the US were slack in managing the process.

Now SA's regulator says it will conduct further tests on vehicles implicated in the VW scandal. If there is local evidence of cheating, "this will be followed by sampling and testing of emissions requirements against the relevant SA standard".

"If vehicles are found to be noncompliant, the NRCS will apply a sanctioning process which will lead to recall of the relevant vehicles for correction," it added.

South African emissions standards are much less demanding than those of Europe and the US.

South African petrol and diesel carry many more pollutants than those in developed markets - to the point that some clean-burning engines cannot be used in the local market because the fuel is too dirty.

As a result, even the cleanest modern engine in SA - petrol or diesel - will fail to achieve the same emissions readings as in the rest of the world.

Source: Business Day