Volkswagen starts second round of Korea recalls

In an extended recall that began Monday, the Korean unit of Volkswagen Group is carrying out a software update on 82,291 Audi and Volkswagen cars equipped with the emissions-test-cheating two-liter EA189 diesel engine, Audi Volkswagen Korea said in a statement. “The software update for the affected vehicles can be completed within 30 minutes. No costs will be incurred for the recall.”

Three Audi and six Volkswagen models are subject to the second recall plan. The first started in January, targeting the Tiguan SUV equipped with the same two-liter EA189 diesel engine. The cars now subject to recall are Audi’s A4, A5 and A6, as well as Volkswagen’s Golf, Jetta, Passat, Beetle, CC and Scirocco models, the company said.

“A total of 27,010 Tiguan SUVs were subject to the recall, and half of the affected cars have been checked and fixed,” a Seoul-based company spokeswoman said over the phone. There still remain Audi and Volkswagen models equipped with the two-liter diesel engine and 1.6-liter diesel engine that need to be recalled.

In August, Audi Volkswagen obtained certification from the Ministry of Environment to resume sales of its models in Korea. But it also has to receive certifications from the Transport Ministry and Trade Ministry. The German automaker is widely expected to reintroduce its vehicles in the Korean market as soon as late this year.

In July last year, Volkswagen voluntarily stopped selling its vehicles in Korea as the government announced it would ban the sale of all Audi and Volkswagen cars and impose heavy fines on the German automaker after it admitted to falsifying U.S. emissions test results in some of its diesel cars.

Yonhap