South Korea Fines Volkswagen

The emissions scandal that rocked automotive conglomerate Volkswagen AG, just dealt another blow to the carmaker as South Korea became the only other country besides the United States to take action against them. Volkswagen Korea has been fined 14.1 billion Won (Rs 81.7 crore) for cheating the country's own emissions test

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In September, Volkswagen admitted to have installed software, referred to as a 'defeat device,' that tricks emission testing devices into recording just a fraction of the actual amount of NOx (oxides of nitrogen) emitted. The real figures are claimed to have been up to 40 times the recorded amount. The number of diesel cars worldwide that the software has been installed in is close to the 11 million mark spread across 5 of Volkswagen's sub brands - Seat, Skoda, Audi, Volkswagen, and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. In the United States alone, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated that the company could face fines to the tune of $18 billion (Rs 1.2 lakh crore approx).

Also Read: Cheating Software Also Affects VW Group's 3.0-Litre TDI Engine, Claims EPA

After the extent of the scandal was confirmed, South Korea decided to perform its own thorough emissions tests to find out the number of cars affected. So far, a total of 1.25 lakh cars have been recalled in the country with government testing of 15 other diesel vehicles set to be completed by April next year.

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The scandal has adversely affected the sales of German diesel imports in the country. Diesel cars manufactured by German carmakers had been gaining traction in a segment that was naturally controlled by indigenous companies like Hyundai and Kia. However according to the information provided by Reuters, since the dieselgate scandal, the market share of imported vehicles sold in South Korea fell by 3.36 per cent to 12.34 percent in October. Within the sub-category of imported cars, Volkswagen's market share fell 8.8 per cent to an abysmal 5.4 per cent of total imported cars sold in October in South Korea.

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