1.2m UK cars affected by the biggest scandal in VW’s history

One in ten diesel cars on UK's roads may be recalled after German carmaker admits scale of the problem in Britain

1.2m UK cars affected by the biggest scandal in VW’s history
4,000 vehicles have been withdrawn from sale at VW Group dealers, representing around 3 per cent of the brands’ total stock in the UK.

The latest announcement from Volkswagen on the emissions-rigging scandal has revealed that a total of 1.18 million cars and vans in the UK are fitted with a ‘defeat device’.

The diesel vehicles include 508,276 Volkswagen cars, 393,450 Audis, 76,773 Seats, 131,569 Škodas and 79,838 Volkswagen commercial vehicles – all manufactured between 2009 and 2015 and contain ‘EA 189 EU5’ engines.

Withdrawn from sale

The company has withdrawn 4,000 new cars from sale in the UK but has remained silent on consumer concerns about how they will be affected by the biggest scandal in VW’s history.

Speaking to Auto Express, VW said: “Some [questions] can’t be answered for legal reasons, others can’t be answered for technical reasons.

“We think it’s going to be weeks rather than months before people find out what the technical fix is.”

Owners of affected cars will be contacted by VW “step-by-step with details of a process to get their vehicles corrected in the near future.”

During a speech to a National Air Quality Conference last week, SMMT Chief Executive, Mike Hawes said: “Consumers are right to be concerned following the events of the past ten days.

“But we must remember, the actions of one company do not mean collusion.

“Implicating other brands or companies would be unfair and wrong.”

‘Existence-threatening crisis’

Volkswagen’s chairman, Hans Dieter Poetsch has warned that the scandal poses “an existence-threatening crisis for the company”, as it attempts to rebuild its shattered reputation with a new media campaign launched in Germany this week.

One advertisement read: “We just want to say one thing: We will do everything to win back your trust.”

Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin said: “The government’s priority is to protect the public and I understand VW are contacting all UK customers affected.

“I have made clear to the managing director, this needs to happen as soon as possible.

“The government expects VW to set out quickly next steps it will take to correct the problem and support owners of these vehicles already purchased in the UK.”

The German government has given Volkswagen until October 7 to set out how it intends to fix the problem.

Share your views in the comments below as the repercussions deepen and hit UK consumers. Let us know if any of your customers are concerned that their cars could be affected.

14 Comments

  1. I note the points raised, but how is it affecting the cars driveablity.

    Reply
    • Thanks for your comment. VW are yet to announce a solution to the problem but any fix is likely to reduce the performance and fuel efficiency of the vehicle.

      Reply
      • Why should any fix reduce performance and fuel efficiency? Current speculation, and it is just speculation, suggests that a chemical can be injected into the exhaust system to break down any NOX gases into their constituent parts. If (repeat If) this method is adopted then the fix will be down stream of the combustion process and will have absolutely no effect on engine performance.
        As to the possibility of of increased taxation on the affected vehicles, this is a nonsense. In the UK,at least, vehicle taxation rates are based on a vehicle’s carbon emissions, not on its NOX gas emissions, which is the cause of this present scandal.

        Reply
        • It’s all very much speculation at the moment, largely because VW has been pretty quiet on the topic. One report suggests that performance and fuel efficiency could fall if VW only offers a software update, which would be far cheaper for the manufacturer. If VW makes a software update and retrofits a new SCR system, performance and fuel efficiency could remain unchanged but this would be at a far great cost per car.
          As I said, it’s very much an ‘unknown’ at the moment but it will certainly be interesting to see how VW goes forward with this and how much long-term damage has been done.

          Reply
  2. I note the points raised, but how is it affecting the cars driveablity.

    Reply
    • Thanks for your comment. VW are yet to announce a solution to the problem but any fix is likely to reduce the performance and fuel efficiency of the vehicle.

      Reply
      • Why should any fix reduce performance and fuel efficiency? Current speculation, and it is just speculation, suggests that a chemical can be injected into the exhaust system to break down any NOX gases into their constituent parts. If (repeat If) this method is adopted then the fix will be down stream of the combustion process and will have absolutely no effect on engine performance.
        As to the possibility of of increased taxation on the affected vehicles, this is a nonsense. In the UK,at least, vehicle taxation rates are based on a vehicle’s carbon emissions, not on its NOX gas emissions, which is the cause of this present scandal.

        Reply
        • It’s all very much speculation at the moment, largely because VW has been pretty quiet on the topic. One report suggests that performance and fuel efficiency could fall if VW only offers a software update, which would be far cheaper for the manufacturer. If VW makes a software update and retrofits a new SCR system, performance and fuel efficiency could remain unchanged but this would be at a far great cost per car.
          As I said, it’s very much an ‘unknown’ at the moment but it will certainly be interesting to see how VW goes forward with this and how much long-term damage has been done.

          Reply
  3. I bought my vw tiguan based on its function & MPG! also the road tax cost. if the fuel efficiency drops & the road tax goes up then this vehicle was missold to me & not what I would have bought. Therefore makes it not fit for purpose within my budget. I would want a full refund & all costs reimbursed if this is the case.

    Reply
  4. I bought my vw tiguan based on its function & MPG! also the road tax cost. if the fuel efficiency drops & the road tax goes up then this vehicle was missold to me & not what I would have bought. Therefore makes it not fit for purpose within my budget. I would want a full refund & all costs reimbursed if this is the case.

    Reply
  5. Storm in a teapot: nothing needs to be changed at all – it has no effect on carbon based system and MOT testing in the UK. NOx is not tested so why change anything. There is a problem in USA as they test for NOx so big deal there as VW lied/cheated. Nothing to do here

    Reply
  6. Storm in a teapot: nothing needs to be changed at all – it has no effect on carbon based system and MOT testing in the UK. NOx is not tested so why change anything. There is a problem in USA as they test for NOx so big deal there as VW lied/cheated. Nothing to do here

    Reply
  7. My wife has an Audi A 1 1600 diesel that is a year old and see love it so that’s all that maters to me as she is happy

    Reply
  8. My wife has an Audi A 1 1600 diesel that is a year old and see love it so that’s all that maters to me as she is happy

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

Have your say!

4 0

Lost Password

Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.