National Green Tribunal Issues Notice To Government And Volkswagen India

By siliconindia | Monday, 30 November 2015, 11:27 Hrs

BENGALURU: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the Centre and to Volkswagen on a plea seeking ban on the manufacture and sale of its vehicles for allegedly flouting emission norms.

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 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. 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 November 4, the government was expected to issue a show cause notice to the Volkswagen Group.

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 720 crore. The sub-compact sedan will be rolled out from the company's Pune plant, and production is expected to begin early-2016. The company will also launch the new generation of the Beetle in India this December too.