Korea to inspect Volkswagen vehicles

Volkswagen Korea CEO Thomas Kuehl

By Lee Hyo-sik

The Korean government will inspect diesel-powered Volkswagen and Audi vehicles sold here to check if the cars comply with emission standards.

If the German automakers are found to have manipulated the amount of exhaust emissions to pass the state test, as they did in the United States, this could tarnish the carmakers’ image here and hurt sales.

The move comes three days after the U.S. government ordered Volkswagen and Audi to recall nearly 500,000 diesel-powered vehicles sold in the world’s largest automobile market.

Last Friday, Volkswagen admitted it installed a controversial software program in its Jetta, Beetle, Passat and Golf cars, all produced between 2009 and 2015. Audi A3 vehicles were also found to have the software that enables the cars to detect when they undergo smog emission tests and lower exhaust emissions. The emission controls are then turned off during ordinary driving.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the software deceived regulators measuring toxic emissions, adding that Volkswagen could face an $18 billion fine as a result.

The German government also ordered a full-scale investigation into diesel-powered Volkswagen and Audi vehicles, while other European nations are expected to follow suit.

“We will launch an investigation into Volkswagen and Audi vehicles brought into the country within a month,” said Hong Dong-gon, director of the environmental transport division at the Ministry of Environment, which regulates automobile emissions.

“We will secure one vehicle of each model and bring them to the National Institute of Environmental Research for inspection. The researchers will test whether the vehicles are equipped with the software program at issue, which manipulates the level of emissions.”

Hong said the ministry will make its findings public as soon as possible, adding that if the German automakers installed the illicit software, they would face a huge public backlash.

“If Volkswagen and Audi cheated on emission levels, consumers would stop buying their cars,” the director said. “However, even if the carmakers are found to have manipulated emission levels, the government cannot order them to recall their cars because there are no punitive provisions to apply in this case.”

Under the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement, Korea promised to follow the EU-set standards. But the standards concerning auto emissions will not be in place until September 2017.

“Unfortunately, the government has no means to punish Volkswagen and Audi even if they cheated,” Hong said. “I believe that consumers will do it for us.”

However, Volkswagen Korea, headed by CEO Thomas Kuehl, said Tuesday that its diesel cars sold in Korea are equipped with different engines, stressing that its cars on the U.S. recall list were never brought into the country.

“Our diesel vehicles sold in Korea follow European regulations,” the company said. “So, the cars sold here have different engines from those sold in the United States.”

Founded in 2005, Volkswagen Korea sold 18,635 cars in the first six months of the year, earning 712.8 billion won.