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New Delhi, Sept 25: Asked by the government to probe whether Volkswagen has manipulated emission tests in India as it did in the US, automotive testing agency ARAI Friday said it has started the process and has sought details from the company on the issue.
“We have sought details from Volkswagen and are awaiting their response,” ARAI (Automotive Research Association of India) director Rashmi Urdhwareshe said. When asked if they would pick up random samples to test, she said: “We are yet to decide on that.”
Urdhwareshe said the testing agency will work as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Heavy Industries. When contacted, a Volkswagen India spokesperson declined to comment stating “the investigations are still running”.
Thursday, heavy industries secretary Rajan Katoch had said the ministry has asked ARAI to inquire if VW manipulated emissions tests in India as it did in the US where it faces fines to the tune of a staggering $18 billion.
VW has admitted that 11 million cars worldwide were fitted with the software that helped in manipulating emission tests. It is now facing investigations in the US, South Korea, France, Italy, Canada, Germany and the UK. Australia has said it is monitoring the situation. In the wake of the scandal in the US, the embattled CEO of Volkswagen, Martin Winterkorn, stepped down earlier this week.
The allegations against Germany’s largest car maker were initially raised by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which last week ordered it to recall nearly half a million diesel cars fitted with a device that allowed cars to pass emission control tests by showing much lower levels of pollution than in ordinary use.
A special software enabled the cars to detect when they were on emission control test and lower their pollution levels. It could hide the fact that the emission levels of diesel cars were 40 times higher than the level of pollutants allowed in the US. PTI