Volkswagen may have become the largest global automaker after it sold more cars than Toyota in the first half of the year, but the consequences of the cheating emissions scandal are starting to kick in.
Accused of forging documents on emissions or noise-level tests following the Group’s admittance last September to using illegal software on roughly 11 million diesel vehicles sold worldwide, South Korea decided to order a stop-sale on 32 models made by Volkswagen, Audi and Bentley, out of which 27 are sold locally, Reuters reports.
The decision, made on Tuesday, comes from the local environment ministry and revokes certification for 83,000 diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles, which brings the total number of de-certified models to 209,000 in the Asian country, covering 68 percent of the cars/SUVs sold by the automaker in South Korea since 2007.
Local authorities also slapped the German carmaker with a 17.8 billion won ($15.98 million) fine, which comes after the government revoked certification of 126,000 VW vehicles last November and fined the automaker with 14.1 billion won ($12.66 million). Prosecutors also raided the German manufacturer’s offices in Seoul and arrested an executive in June.
Volkswagen predicted South Korea’s decision and issued its own internal stop-sale in the country last week, but that doesn’t mean that the automotive giant has completely lost the battle, as it could take legal action against the government’s verdict.
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