#Dieselgate: What Should You Do If You Own A Volkswagen?
5 questions, answered for owners of Volkswagen cars in India regarding the recall.
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Will the troubled car-maker Volkswagen actually begin the recall of 3.23 lakh vehicles across the country? Here are answers to five questions you might have, especially if you’re the owner of a Volkswagen car.
1. I Have A Volkswagen, What Should I Do Now?
As of now, Volkswagen has not issued any official statement regarding the recall.
When The Quint contacted the company, an official who did not wish to be named, said that the company is still preparing its response. This official told The Quint that they will communicate their plan to the government and then roll out the recall.
Bottomline: the recall will take time, and Volkswagen car-owners should wait for the official timeline.
2. How Much Will This Recall Cost?
The recall will be free of cost and affected customers will be contacted by the company.
3. Which Volkswagen Models Will Be Recalled?
Owners of Volkswagen’s petrol cars in India aren’t affected, only diesel ones.
The engine that’s at the epicentre of the recall controversy is the E189 model, which according to VW, has been fitted in 11 million cars worldwide. In India that figure is 3.23 lakhs.
According to The Telegraph, the E189 engine is fitted in 198,500 Volkswagen models such as Polo, Vento, Jetta and Passat. The list also includes 36,500 Audi Vehicles (Audi A3 and A4 sedans that were sold between 2008 and November 2015).
The 1.2 Litre, 1.5 Litre, 1.6 Litre and 2.0 Litre variants of E189 engine model will be recalled.
4.What Is The Dieselgate Scandal?
It all started in America when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that VW cars in America were more polluting on the road than the company claimed.
5. What Does The Future Hold for Volkswagen?
The company faces fines of 18 billion dollars in the US and its stock has fallen by almost a third. The cost of possible legal action taken by car owners and shareholders cannot be calculated as of now, but can turn out to be huge for the company.
Fitch rating agency has also downgraded Volkswagen’s rating by two notches.
However, in India it might just get away with it as emission laws are not as strict as the Euro emission norms.
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